The FBI-wanted Sirajuddin Haqqani, head of the Haqqani network, a US-designated terror group, has been named acting interior minister, the Taliban said Tuesday in announcing its interim government.
The State Department is offering a $5 million reward for information directly leading to his arrest.
Taliban just keeps trolling the US. FBI-Wanted “Sirajuddin Haqqan” is the new Interior minister of the interim government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. FBI has a $5 million bounty for information about his whereabouts. pic.twitter.com/eHIxgzJZF4
— ASB News / MILITARY?? (@ASBMilitary) September 7, 2021
"Sirajuddin Haqqani is wanted for questioning in connection with the January 2008 attack on a hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, that killed six people, including an American citizen," the FBI states. "He is believed to have coordinated and participated in cross-border attacks against United States and coalition forces in Afghanistan. Haqqani also allegedly was involved in the planning of the assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karzai in 2008."
Last year, The New York Times came under fire for publishing an opinion piece by Haqqani titled, "What We, the Taliban, Want." Unlike the "controversial" NYT op-ed by Sen. Tom Cotton, which the editors said "should not have been published," and ought to have included "additional context," there was no similar addendum on Haqqani's piece or additional context to explain his terrorist background.
The decision by the New York Times to feature a piece by Sirajuddin Haqqani, deputy leader of the Taliban and avowed enemy of the United States, is nothing short of reprehensible. This individual is a cold-blooded killer and terrorist, with the deaths of thousands of Afghans and the blood of hundreds of American and Coalition servicemen and women on his hands. His purported desire for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan does not signal some peacemaking epiphany or political rehabilitation on his part, nor for the terrorists that he leads. He does not deserve a platform, especially one as legitimizing as the New York Times, and the decision to feature him should be roundly condemned. (Brookings)
The interim government will be led by Taliban member Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, who was appointed interim prime minister, with Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar named as his deputy.
"We know the people of our country have been waiting for a new government," spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid reportedly said.
“Other appointments include Mullah Yaqoob as acting defence minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi as acting foreign minister, and Mullah Abdul Salam Hanafi as a second deputy,” according to BBC.