Thread by @Osinttechnical

New Taliban government. There's a lot to unpack here.

Haqqani (yes, that Haqqani, State Department), the interior minister, has a $5 million US bounty on his head.

Rumors are the new Defense Minister Yaqoob is backed by the Saudis

(1/x)

The new PM Mullah Akhund is under UN sanctions. He's been the head of the Rehbari Shura, or leadership council. He was previously the foreign minister and then deputy prime minister during the Taliban’s last stint in power from 1996-2001.

aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/7/…

1st Deputy Ghani Baradar was the chief Taliban negotiator in Qatar, he was freed from a Pakistani prison in 2018 under request from the US. For a while he has been considered the de facto leader of the Taliban. thediplomat.com/2018/10/why-do…

The 2nd deputy, Abdul Salam Hanafi, is more of a spiritual guy. Was present in Doha. Not much more publicly known. bbc.com/urdu/pakistan-…

The new defense minister, Mohammad Yaqoob, is absolutely a figure to watch. Son of the founder of the Taliban, he has a serious power base inside the movement. He appeared in 2015, supported the peace process, and was probably the main person who made the ceasefire work.

Already talked about the interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, here's his FBI wanted poster. He is also the leader of the Haqqani network, so definitely on the extreme end of the Taliban political spectrum.

Amir Khan Muttaqi is the new FM. Former Minister of Information and Culture, and he was present in Doha with the negotiation team. Right as Kabul fell it was rumored that he was trying to hash out a transitional government with Abdullah Abdullah and Hamid Karzai.

I'm sort of unfamiliar with Hidayatullah Badri, but the Finance Ministry is going to be an absolute clusterfuck for the next few years.

The new Broadcast Minister is a former Guantanimo jailbird. Khairullah Khairkhwa is the former governor of Herat. He was released in late May 2014 in a prisoner exchange that involved Bowe Bergdahl and the Taliban five.

Continued on that, former Afghan President Karzai actually demanded his release in 2011, saying that he was a moderate and his freedom would further the peace process.

Frankly, I feel bad for anyone who spent time in Guantanamo during the Bush years.

The new Minister of Economic Affairs, Qari Din Hanif, is actually an interesting figure. He is one of the few non-Pashtuns in senior Taliban leadership. He was also part of the Doha negotiation team. He was the Minister of Planning and Minister of Higher Education from 96-01.

This one took a bit to dig up. The new Hajj minister, Noor Mohammad Saqib, is actually still under pre 9/11 UN sanctions from when he was a member of the Taliban Supreme Council and head of its Religious Committee. He was responsible for crafting and administering religious law.

The new Law Minister is Abdul Hakim Munib. Hardliner and one of the chief negotiators in Doha.

Another member of the Taliban Five released from Guantanimo in a prisoner exchange that involved Bowe Bergdahl. Norullah Noori is the new Borders and Tribes Minister. Honestly, this is one of the most complex ones, just read his Wikipedia entry. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norullah_…

The new Minister for Petroleum and Mining, Muhammad Issa Akhund, is the former Taliban shadow governor for Paktika province. Here he is sitting in the governor's seat at the governor's HQ in the capital city of Sharana after the Taliban takeover.

The new Minister for Water and Power, Mullah Abdul Latif Mansoor, was previously the Minister of Agriculture, and a member of the Taliban Supreme Council from 96-01. He was the shadow governor of Nangarhar Province and was responsible for a large portion of the insurgency there.

Abdul Baqi Haqqani is the new Higher Education Minister. He stated that women had the right to study, but that women students would study in separate classrooms to men students.

He is sanctioned by the EU for "organizing militant activities"

The new Telecommunication Minister, Najibullah Haqqani, previously held the roles of Deputy Minister of Public Works and Deputy Minister of Finance. During the insurgency, he was responsible for militant activities in Kunar and Laghman Provinces. Currently under UN sanctions.

Khalil Haqqani, leader of the (terror group) Haqqani network, has been appointed to the role of Refugees Minister. Over the past few weeks, he has established himself in charge of security in Kabul. It is also reported that he has a major shadow role inside the govt.

New Director of Intelligence, Abdul Haq Wasiq is a former Guantanamo detainee and a member of the Taliban Five. He was the Deputy Minister of Intelligence under the former Taliban government and has known connections to Al Qaeda.

Deputy Defense Minister, Muhammad Fazil is another member of the Taliban Five. He was the former Deputy Defense Minister. In that role, he is alleged to be responsible for killing thousands of Shi'a Afghans between 1996 and late 2001.

The new Chief of Army Staff, Qari Fasihuddin, lead the Taliban advance into the Panjshir valley. He was formerly the Deputy Commander of the Military Commission. He is one of the two Tajiks in the new Taliban cabinet.

Deputy Foreign Minister, Muhammad Abbas Stanikzai, is the closest the Taliban can get to a career diplomat. Under the previous Taliban government, he was the deputy minister of foreign affairs. He traveled to Washington in 1996 to ask then US president Clinton for recognition.

Recently, he was the deputy head of the Taliban political office in Doha, Qatar. He also has close ties with Pakistani intelligence.

Deputy Interior Minister, Mullah Noor Jalal is a former intelligence officer.

And our favorite Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, will be the new Deputy Minister of Information. He is one of the few longtime Taliban spokespersons.

Deputy Director Intelligence, Tajmir Jawad, is a senior Haqqani terror operative with connections to Pakistani military intelligence. Rumored to be responsible for the 2017 Camp Shaheen attack that killed more than 150, he has also been responsible for several attacks on Kabul.

Jawad is a ghost, but he's seriously fucking terrifying.

Honestly, the rest is just a smattering of senior Taliban leadership. A serious number of Haqqani network people have senior roles, and Pakistani Intelligence definitely has some large conduits into the govt.

There are a number of figures who have served in the 96-01 Taliban government, and I expect them to possibly clash with some of the newer faces.