Who Is Siraj Haqqani, New Afghan Interior Minister With $5 Million Bounty On His Head?

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has announced who will be appointed to key government posts as the group assumes complete power over Afghanistan. Despite claims they would rule differently to the group's repressive regime in the 1990s, the list was filled with mostly old guard stalwarts.

Sirajuddin Haqqani, leader of a US-designated terrorist organization, is a key part of the new Taliban caretaker government.

Who's who in the Taliban government?

Sirajuddin Haqqani will be acting interior minister, Mullah Yaqoob will be acting defence minister and Amir Khan Muttaqi will be acting foreign minister. Haqqani is the scion of a powerful family and leader of the brutal and powerful Haqqani network, which has become a suborganization of the Taliban in its own right.

Mullah Hasan Akhund has been the leader of the Taliban's leadership council for decades. Yaqoob is the son of Taliban founder Mohammed Omar.

Muttaqi is an established part of the group's diplomacy apparatus, representing the Islamist organization at UN-brokered peace negotiations.

The interim government will continue to include a Culture and Information Ministry as well as an Education Ministry, as well as a minister for refugees and repatriation.

Who is Sirajuddin Haqqani?

Siraj Haqqani, son of the founder of the Haqqani network, has been named as the interior minister of the new government in Afghanistan despite US President Joe Biden urging the Taliban leadership to cut ties with all other terrorist groups.

According to the FBI website, the US Department of State is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading directly to the arrest of Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is thought to stay in Pakistan, specifically the Miram Shah area in North Waziristan, and maintains close ties to the Taliban and al Qaeda.

He is wanted for questioning in connection with the January 2008 attack on a hotel in Kabul that killed six people, including an American citizen. He is believed to have coordinated and participated in cross-border attacks against the US and coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Haqqani was also allegedly involved in the planning of the assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karzai in 2008, the FBI website read.