The Taliban's Leaders and Its Rank-and-File Are Competing for Afghanistan

Waheedullah Hashimi, a senior Taliban member, told Reuters that the group is still working out the details of how it will govern the country. The member explained that because the group is planning governance similar to that of its previous regime, there will be no democratic system at all because it lacks a base in the country. “We will not debate which type of political system should be implemented in Afghanistan because the answer is obvious. It is sharia law, and that is all there is to it “Reuters spoke with Hashimi.

As Hashimi stated, the country will be governed by a council that will oversee day-to-day operations, with the Taliban’s supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, likely remaining in charge overall. From 1996 to 2001, the Taliban ruled Afghanistan in this manner. Mullah Omar, the supreme leader, remained in the shadows at the time, and the council was in charge of day-to-day governance.

Who will be the next president?

Abdul Ghani Baradar, one of the group’s founders, is expected to be the president of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Hashimi, on the other hand, believes that any of Haibatullah Akhundzada’s three deputies could take over as president. Other deputies include Mawlavi Yaqoob, the son of Mullah Omar, the Taliban’s founder, and Sirajuddin Haqqani, the leader of the powerful militant Haqqani network.

Taliban do not have pilots

The Taliban are planning to recruit pilots who worked for the Afghan government as the group does not have pilots. After the foreign troops withdrew, the Taliban seized helicopters and aircraft and now are in contact with many pilots to join their force. “And we have asked them to come and join, join their brothers, their government. We called many of them and are in search of (others’) numbers to call them and invite them to their jobs,” Hashimi said.

New national force

Apart from the air force, the Taliban are planning to set up a new national force including their members and Afghan soldiers. “Most of them have got training in Turkey and Germany and England. So we will talk to them to get back to their positions. Of course, we will have some changes, to have some reforms in the army, but still, we need them and will call them to join us,” Hashimi said to Reuters.