Acting Afghan PM Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund calls on former officials to return home

NEW DELHI: Afghanistan's new Acting Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund has called on former officials who fled when the Taliban seized power last month to return to the country, saying the group "will guarantee their security and safety", Al Jazeera reported. In an interview with Al Jazeera on Wednesday, Akhund also said that the caretaker government would guarantee the security of diplomats, embassies and humanitarian relief institutions, stressing that the group wanted to establish positive and strong relations with countries in the region and beyond.

Akhund, a close associate and political adviser to the late Mullah Omar, the founder of the Taliban and its first supreme leader, said the movement's leaders faced "a great responsibility and test" towards the Afghan people.

"We have suffered huge losses in money and lives for this historical moment in the history of Afghanistan," Akhund added.

"The stage of bloodshed, killing and contempt for people in Afghanistan has ended, and we have paid dearly for this."

Akhund also reiterated the Taliban's promise of amnesty for anyone who has worked alongside the US and the administration it backed following its 2001 invasion, the report said.

"No one will be able to prove that he was subjected to revenge. And in such tense circumstances, it is easy to do what you want. But the movement is disciplined and controls its gunmen. And, we have not harmed anyone because of his previous actions," he said.

On Tuesday night, the Taliban announced the formation of Afghanistan's caretaker government, with Akhund appointed as Acting Prime Minister. In a statement following the announcement, the Taliban's supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, said the urgent task would be to carry out reconstruction and rehabilitation, and the country would seek "strong and healthy relations" with its neighbours and all other countries.

Besides the appointment of Akhund, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and Abdul Salam Hanafi were named acting Deputy Prime Ministers, while Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, son of Mullah Omar, was appointed as Acting Defense Minister.

Amir Khan Muttaqi was appointed as Acting Foreign Minister, and Sarajuddin Haqqani, son of the founder of the Haqqani Network terror group, was named Acting Interior Minister.

According to the Taliban, the appointments were not final as these were acting positions, and the remaining posts would be announced later. (IANS)

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