Chief of Taliban’s decision-making body Rehbari Shura now head of state

A man looks out of a car window as commuters make their way along a road in Kabul on Tuesday. Pic/AFP

Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund, the chief of the Taliban's powerful decision-making body Rehbari Shura, has been named as Afghanistan's new head of state by the insurgent group's top leader Mullah Hebatullah Akhundzada, according to a Pakistani media report.

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Chairman of Taliban's Political Office in Doha, and Mullah Abdus Salam will work as deputies of Mullah Hasan in the new Taliban government, which is likely to be announced next week, The News International reported, citing multiple sources. Mullah Hasan is currently 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 soldiers walk towards Afghans shouting slogans, during a demonstration, near the Pakistan embassy in Kabul. Pic/AP/PTI

Mullah Hebatullah himself proposed Mullah Hassan's name to head the government, the paper said, adding that the issues within ranks of the Taliban regarding the formation of the government have been resolved. According to the paper, Mullah Hassan 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. Mulla Yaqoob, son of the Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar, will be the new defence minister, the paper said.

Don't want a puppet govt in Afghanistan: Protesters

Chanting "death to Pakistan", Afghan protesters, including women, took to the streets of Kabul on Tuesday, as they claimed that Pakistani jets conducted airstrikes in Panjshir province, according to a media report. 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 Taliban members reportedly fired gunshots in the air to disperse the protestors but they stayed put, the Khamma news agency of Afghanistan reported.

Chanting "death to Pakistan", "freedom", "Allahu Akbar" 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, the report said. The agitators said they do not want a puppet government. 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 rise 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. The foreign ministry has asked for investigations over what has been called the interference of foreign jets. Pakistan was often accused by the Afghanistan government of giving the Taliban military aid, a charge denied by Islamabad.

‘Only women lecturers will teach girls'

Private universities and higher education institutions in Afghanistan that are following the new gender format under which male and female students will be taught in separate classrooms, have reopened. Acting Minister Abdul Baqi Haqani emphasised that only female lecturers will be allowed to teach girls' classes, TOLO News reported. According to Haqani, joint classes are not acceptable at universities.

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