For the moment it is not officially known who will form the new Taliban regime while the insurgents boast of their victory

Taliban threaten government formation

photo_camera AFP/AAMIR QURESHI - Taliban flags next to posters of Taliban leaders Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and Amir Khan Muttaqi

Afghanistan continues to be in turmoil and chaos. With Ghani's departure from the country and under Taliban rule, Afghanistan is awaiting a new official appointment by the Taliban government. A new appointment that, if made, would plunge the country into a new period of obscurantism. There is conflicting information. On the one hand, EFE's sources, who come directly from Taliban spokesmen such as Bilal Kamili, claim that the information that "the Islamic Emirate (as the Taliban call themselves) will announce the formation of the new government today is incorrect propaganda and rumours".

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On the other hand, Reuters and other Arab media claim that the Taliban have reportedly announced the formation of a new regime under the leadership of Hebatullah Akhundzada Mullah. They also claim that Taliban Muhammad Yaqoub, son of the movement's late founder Mullah Omar, along with Sher Muhammad Abbas Stanikzai, will be occupying important positions of power.

However, the insurgents have assured that the announcement of the new executive will have to wait as there is still no official date for the appointment. 

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However, if such a regime is formed, several Western countries have taken a stance against officially recognising it. In this regard, the United Kingdom has been one of the first countries to take a position on this issue, after the British Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, stated that "his country will not recognise the government that the Taliban intend to announce in the capital".

Raab also said during a joint press conference with his Pakistani counterpart in Islamabad that during the airport evacuation operations "we did not recognise the Taliban, but we need to maintain some contact to get the collaborators out and provide assistance," he said. 

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On the other hand, the European Union has affirmed that it will maintain relations with the Taliban as long as their "behaviour" respects human rights, especially those related to women, freedom of the press or access to allow humanitarian aid to reach the Taliban.

Taliban show of force

Following the departure of international troops, the Taliban have taken advantage of the situation to "celebrate" the Western withdrawal and thus the victory of the insurgents. The fundamentalists, who promised to reach a peaceful settlement with the former Afghan government, have paraded in Kandahar, the spiritual birthplace of the movement, in military vehicles, including Humvees taken from the US arsenal. In the parades, the Taliban have made use of various white flags with black inscriptions that signalled that Afghanistan was now part of an Islamic Emirate. 

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Similarly, Afghanistan's national television has broadcast parades of Islamists wearing suicide waistcoats, car bombs, rail bombs and explosives. As noted by TheNational.Cat, these images have been accompanied by a voiceover describing what can be seen: "Now, you can witness the martyrs' squad with the Islamic flag," they said. "And now, these heavy weapons so high, different types of mines, yellow barrels and car bombs are passing in front of the authorities (...) everything has been used to fight against the invaders and their puppets in order to defend the independence of our beloved country".

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The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has expressed his concern about the current situation in Afghanistan. He warned of an "imminent humanitarian catastrophe" as well as "a total collapse of basic services". Guterres called for the approval of funds to provide humanitarian assistance to the country and its people. 

Qatari influence on airport reopening

The Qatari government said it is negotiating with Taliban leaders to reopen Kabul airport at "the earliest possible time", although so far no agreement has been reached to get the airport up and running, according to Qatari Foreign Minister Mohamed bin Abdelrahman al-Thani. 

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In this regard, Doha sent a Boeing C-17A to Kabul along with a technical team seeking to execute the equipment to make the airport operational. The Qatari minister said that "we are confident that we can make the airport operational as soon as possible, hopefully in the next few days we will receive good news". He noted that "there is no information about the date when it could be operational, but we are working hard," he added, noting that "there is no agreement yet".

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