KABUL: Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the Taliban, has ordered his ministers to remove the “acting” designation from their titles, a move experts say indicates the establishment of a permanent Afghan government.
Weeks after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the group formed a caretaker government consisting almost entirely of senior figures and without female representation, which has remained in place ever since.
As Afghanistan marks the fourth anniversary on Friday since the Taliban takeover of the country, the group’s reclusive chief, who rules largely from Kandahar, told his officials to stop using “caretaker” in their roles.
“All ministers and the cabinet of the Islamic Emirate should not use the word caretaker in their titles,” Akhundzada said in a statement.
When the Taliban first announced a caretaker administration it was framed as a temporary set-up before the country established an official and inclusive government that included women and members of Afghanistan’s diverse ethnic groups.
