Wanted men and no women: Taliban announce new government of Afghanistan

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The Taliban on Tuesday named its first government since taking over Afghanistan three weeks ago, led by old faces prominent in the 20-year fight against the US.

Members of the previous administration, women and Afghanistan's complex ethnic groups are absent from the list, despite international calls for an inclusive government.

Hassan Akhund, leader of the Taliban in the years before their expulsion in the 2001 US invasion, will serve as interim prime minister. Abdul Ghani Baradar, lead negotiator in talks with the US, will be his deputy, alongside Abdul Salam Hanafi.

The group's interior ministry will be led by Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is the chief of the semi-autonomous Haqqani network and is on the US sanctions list. He also appears on the FBI's Most Wanted list, with a $5 million reward for his capture.

Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund will serve as prime minister. AFP
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar will be the deputy prime minister. Reuters
Abdul Salam Hanafi will be the deputy prime minister. Reuters
Qari Fasihuddin, chief of the army. Photo Islamic Defence Force Of Afghanistan
Khairullah Khairkhwa will head the Ministry of Information and Culture. Reuters
Zabihullah Mujahid will be deputy minister of Information and Culture. Reuters
Amir Khan Mottaki will be the foreign minister. AFP

Mohammad Yaqoob will serve as defence minister. He is the son of deceased Taliban co-founder Mullah Omar. The chief of the army will be Qari Fasihuddin, who led the Taliban's fight to capture Panjshir.

The line-up also includes two men freed from US custody at Guantanamo Bay in exchange for US soldier Bowe Bergdahl in 2014. Abdul Haq Wasiq will lead the National Directorate of Security, Afghanistan's top intelligence agency, and Khairullah Khairkhwa will head the Ministry of Information and Culture.

Mr Khairkhwa's deputy will be Zabihullah Mujahid, who has acted as the group's spokesman in recent months, sending missives on social media.

The Taliban's foreign minister will be Amir Khan Mottaki, one of the group's top negotiators and a fixture at negotiations with the US in the Qatari capital of Doha.

Perhaps one of the most difficult jobs will go to Hidayatullah Badri, who will need to helm the Ministry of Finance as aid agencies and international partners pull money from the country in protest at the Taliban takeover of the country.

The Women's Ministry has been removed from the list of Cabinet positions.

It was not clear what role in the government would be played by Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban leader, who released his first statement since the collapse of the western-backed government and the seizure of Kabul by the Taliban last month shortly after the announcement of the Cabinet.

"I assure all the countrymen that the figures will work hard towards upholding Islamic rules and sharia law in the country," Akhundzada, who has never been seen in public, said in a statement released in English.

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The biog

Year of birth: 1988

Place of birth: Baghdad

Education: PhD student and co-researcher at Greifswald University, Germany

Hobbies: Ping Pong, swimming, reading

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima

Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650

Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder

Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm

Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm

Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission

Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km

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I pledge to always stand up for these values: Zayed's values for tolerance and human fraternity