The Taliban recently announced its interim ‘Islamic Emirate’ government with 33 new members. But it may unravel sooner than later. The Pakistan-Taliban duo may have bitten off more than it can chew by putting in charge those it did. And it remains something of a puzzle that the militant group, which is still officially designated as a terrorist entity by many countries, and which so badly is seeking legitimacy, should announce a Cabinet full of men who are still designated as terrorists and carry bounties on their heads.
Ever since the Doha agreements were signed between the US and the Taliban, countries, which include some of the Taliban’s more emphatic supporters, have been calling for a broad-based, inclusive government. These calls accelerated after the Taliban began taking over province after province in Afghanistan this year. The joint statement adopted in Moscow in March by the “extended troika” — Russia, China, Pakistan and the US — explicitly rejected the creation of an “Islamic Emirate” in Afghanistan. The impasse in the intra-Afghan talks and the mounting violence by the Taliban was also blamed on then-President Ashraf Ghani.