Mullah Hassan Akhund leads Afghanistan's caretaker gov't

KABUL - The Taliban said on Tuesday that Mullah Hassan Akhund was appointed as the prime minister of Afghanistan's caretaker government.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a press conference that Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and Abdul Salam Hanafi were named as the acting deputy prime ministers, while Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, son of the late Taliban co-founder Mullah Mohammad Omar, was appointed as the acting defense minister.

Amir Khan Muttaqi served as the acting foreign minister and Sarajuddin Haqqani, son of the founder of the Haqqani network, was named as the acting interior minister, the Taliban spokesman said.

Abas Stanikzai was appointed as the acting deputy foreign minister.

The spokesman said the appointments of the interim government are not final as these are acting positions, and the remaining posts will be announced at a later date.

The move is aimed at carrying out necessary government works, he said.

The spokesman stressed that it is an "acting" government and the group will try to take people from other parts of the country.

He did not elaborate on how long the caretaker government will serve.

The formation of the Afghan caretaker government was announced after the Taliban said on Monday it had completely captured Panjshir, the last holdout province of Afghanistan's 34 provinces.

Panjshir, some 200 km north of the capital Kabul, had been the last province in Afghanistan uncontrolled by the Taliban after the group seized most of Afghanistan's territories since early August in its blitz attacks, including Kabul.

The last batch of US troops left Afghanistan at mid-night on Aug 30, one day before the Aug 31 deadline set by US President Joe Biden, ending a 20-year invasion war into the Central Asian country.

The Taliban previously promised to build an inclusive government and expressed hope that Afghan people would help in the country's transition.