WASHINGTON: Top American lawmakers from the opposition Republican Party on Tuesday hit out at the Taliban over their announcement of an interim government in Afghanistan that includes a specially designated global terrorist.
"Don't be fooled. There is nothing more moderate about the revived Taliban government. This is a government of terrorists, by the terrorists, and for the terrorists," said the Republican Study Committee, which is the largest conservative caucus in the House of Representatives and chaired by Congressman Jim Banks.
"The Taliban's new cabinet comprises former Guantanamo Bay detainees, designated terrorists, and other individuals closely tied to foreign terror groups like Al-Qaeda and the Haqqani Network," Congressman Tim Burchett said.
Burchett said the Taliban clearly have no intention of moderating their extreme beliefs and methods of government, and the Biden administration is "foolishly trusting them to keep American citizens and allies safe".
"President Biden needs to show some strength and let the Taliban know they cannot put Americans in danger or facilitate acts of terror without serious retribution," he said.
"This is a government of terrorists, by the terrorists, and for the terrorists," said the Republican.
"President Biden still clings to an insane fantasy that the Taliban is kinder and gentler. It's nonsense," said Senator Ben Sasse, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
"Haqqani is the Taliban's new interior minister for precisely the same reason the FBI's got a USD 5 million bounty on his head: he's a bloodthirsty terrorist," Sasse said.
The Taliban on Tuesday unveiled a hardline interim government led by Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund, with key roles being shared by high-profile members of the insurgent group, including Sirajuddin Haqqani -- an especially designated global terrorist of the dreaded Haqqani Network -- as the interior minister.
"He's armed, dangerous, and running a country we just abandoned. Americans are still trapped behind Taliban lines. The Biden administration is still refusing to disclose how many of our people they left behind, and the State Department keeps talking about how they really hope the Taliban will live up to their commitments. Pathetic," Sasse said.
Congresswoman Claudia Tenney said it is theocratic government.
"Four of the five prisoners that Obama traded for Bowe Bergdahl are now senior Taliban government officials. One thing never fails: The Obama-Biden policy of weakness and appeasement always backfires on Americans sooner or later," she said.
"The new Taliban, just like the old Taliban, plus a currently wanted international terrorist. Seriously, is ANYBODY surprised by this?" tweeted Congressman Scott Franklin.
The Taliban on Tuesday unveiled a hardline interim government led by Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund, with key roles being shared by high-profile members of the insurgent group, including a specially designated global terrorist of the dreaded Haqqani Network as the interior minister.
Mullah Hasan, the chief of the Taliban's powerful decision-making body 'Rehbari Shura', will be the Acting Prime Minister while Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar will be his deputy in the "new Islamic government, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said at a news conference in Kabul.
The announcement of key figures in the caretaker government comes weeks after the Taliban seized control of war-torn Afghanistan, ousting the previous elected leadership which was backed by the West.
The Taliban have previously said they wanted to form an inclusive government.
However, all of the Cabinet ministers announced on Tuesday are already established Taliban leaders.
A statement attributed to Taliban Supreme Leader Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada told the government to uphold Sharia law.
The Taliban want "strong and healthy relations with our neighbours and all other countries based on mutual respect and interaction", the statement, released in English, said - with the caveat that they would respect international laws and treaties "that are not in conflict with Islamic law and the country's national values".
Sirajuddin Haqqani, a specially designated global terrorist and son of the famous anti-Soviet warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani who founded Haqqani Network, is the new acting interior minister in the 33-member Cabinet that has no woman member.
Haqqani has been one of two deputy leaders of the Taliban since 2016 and has a USD 10 million US bounty on his head.
Khalil Haqqani, Sirajuddin's uncle, was appointed as acting minister for refugees.
Two other members of the Haqqani clan were also named to positions in the interim government, indicating the hand of Pakistan in the Taliban-run government.
The announcement of the interim government comes days after Pakistan's spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lt Gen Hameed dashed to Kabul on an unannounced visit last week.
"Our government won't be based on ethnicity. We will not allow this type of politics," Taliban spokesman Mujahid said.
The Taliban had promised an "inclusive" government that represents Afghanistan's complex ethnic makeup, but there is no Hazara member in the Cabinet.
Mullah Ameer Khan Muttaqi will be the new acting foreign minister while Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai will be his deputy, said Mujahid, who has been appointed as the deputy information minister.
Mulla Yaqoob, son of the Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar, will be the new acting defence minister.
Yaqoob was a student of Taliban chief Mullah Hebatullah Akhundzada, who had earlier appointed him as head of the powerful military commission of the Taliban.
Mullah Hedayatullah Badri has been named as the acting minister of finance while Qari Fasihuddin Badakhshani will be the new army chief.
Interim Prime Minister Mullah Akhund, thought to be in his 60s, has served as governor of Kandahar province during the Taliban's previous rule in the 1990s.
Akhund was a close aide to the Taliban's co-founder Mullah Omar, who is currently on a UN blacklist.
"The Cabinet is not complete, it is just acting," Mujahid said.
"We will try to take people from other parts of the country."
In a written statement, Acting Prime Minister Mullah Hasan congratulated Afghans for the "withdrawal of all foreign forces, end of the occupation and complete liberation of the country".
A caretaker and "committed" cabinet had been announced which will start working at the earliest, he said, adding that the leaders will "work hard towards upholding Islamic rules and Sharia (Islamic law) in the country.''
"All governance and life in the country will henceforth be in accordance with Islamic law," said Mullah Hasan.
He is presently head of the Taliban's powerful decision-making body - Rehbari Shura or leadership council - which serves much like a government Cabinet running all the group's affairs subject to the approval of the top leader.
Taliban chief Mullah Hebatullah Akhundzada himself proposed Mullah Hasan's name to head the government, according to media reports.
Mullah Hasan belongs to Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban, and was among the founders of the armed movement.
He worked for 20 years as head of Rehbari Shura and remained close to Mullah Hebatullah.
He had served as foreign minister and deputy prime minister during the Taliban's previous government in Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.
His interior minister - Sirajuddin Haqqani - is a specially designated global terrorist.
According to the FBI website, the US Department of State is offering a reward of up to USD 5 million for information leading directly to the arrest of Sirajuddin Haqqani, who maintains close ties to al Qaeda.
He is wanted for questioning in connection with the January 2008 attack on a hotel in Kabul that killed six people, including an American citizen.
He is believed to have coordinated and participated in cross-border attacks against the US and coalition forces in Afghanistan.
He was also allegedly involved in the planning of the assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karzai in 2008, the FBI website noted.
The appointment of a group of established figures from different elements of the Taliban gave no indication of any concession towards protests that broke out in Kabul earlier in the day, when Taliban gunmen fired in the air to scatter them.
Hundreds of men and women shouting slogans such as "Long live the resistance" and "Death to Pakistan" marched in the streets to protest against the Taliban takeover.
Pakistan has deep ties with the Taliban and has been accused of assisting its return to power - charges Islamabad denies.
Hundreds of Afghan protesters, including women wearing the hijab, took to the streets of Kabul on Tuesday chanting "death to Pakistan" and denouncing Islamabad's interference as well as airstrikes by its jets in Panjshir province in support of the Taliban.
In the largest demonstration the Afghan capital has seen since the Taliban seized power last month, activists shouted in support of resistance fighters in the holdout province of Panjshir and chanted against Pakistan, which they view as meddling in Afghanistan's internal affairs.
The protests in Kabul also saw people chanting slogans in favour of the leader of the National Resistance Front (NRF), Ahmad Masoud, who has been leading opposition to the Taliban from the province of Panjshir.
The Taliban on Monday said they have seized Panjshir, the last province not in their control, after their takeover of the US-backed Afghanistan government last month.
The protesters claimed that Pakistan Air Force jets conducted airstrikes in Panjshir province, Afghanistan's Khaama news reported.
Chanting "death to Pakistan", "Freedom" and "we do not want captivity" among many other slogans, the protesters gathered at the gate of the Pakistani embassy in Kabul and asked its staff to leave Afghanistan, it reported.
"Pakistan, Pakistan, Leave Afghanistan," a slogan on a huge banner read.
The agitators said they do not want a puppet government in Afghanistan and asked for an inclusive government, it said.
Some protesters complained about the role that the head of Pakistan's military intelligence has played as negotiations concluded on the formation of a government.
The chief of ISI, Lt Gen Faiz Hamid, arrived in Kabul at the weekend and has been meeting senior Taliban officials, including Mullah Baradar, the head of the Taliban's Political Bureau.
Amid chaotic scenes on the streets, Taliban fighters intervened and shot into the air to disperse the protesters.
The videos showed people scattering or crouching down amid sustained bursts of gunfire.
There were no initial reports of casualties.
Witnesses estimated the crowd at between 300 and 500 people -- many of whom were women wearing the hijab.
Several Afghan journalists covering the demonstration were arrested, witnesses and Afghan media outlets said.
Afghanistan's TOLO news reported that the Taliban detained its cameraperson Wahid Ahmadi and confiscated his camera.
The Taliban forces prevented some journalists from filming the protest, it added.
The demonstrators gathered after Ahmad Masoud, the co-leader of the resistance front in Panjshir province, in a voice clip called on people of Afghanistan to resurrect against the Taliban.
According to the report, people in Blakh and Daikundi provinces also took to the streets on Monday night and chanted slogans against Pakistan.
Iran has also reacted to the airstrikes in Panjshir and the foreign ministry has asked for investigations over what he called the interference of foreign jets.
Questioned about the handling of the protests at a press conference to announce the new government, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that illegal demonstrations would not be allowed.
He said protesters must observe the rules during the current emergency in the country.
He dismissed the claims by protesters about Pakistani interference in Afghanistan, saying they were rumours that had been circulated for two decades.
Meanwhile, human rights group Amnesty International said in a post on Twitter that it is "deeply concerned about reports on use of violence against peaceful protestors & journalists in Kabul by the Taliban.
"Exercising right to freedom of peaceful assembly is a human right. Taliban must respect & allow people to exercise their rights," Amnesty tweeted.
Human Rights Watch tweeted: "In yet another indication that #Afghanistan's new rulers will not tolerate peaceful dissent, the Taliban again used force to crush a protest by hundreds of #Afghan women calling for their rights today.