‘Consensus has been reached, new govt soon’

KABUL: The Taliban and other Afghan leaders have reached a “consensus” on the formation of a government and cabinet under the leadership of the group’s top spiritual leader, and an announcement could come in a few days’ time, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.

Taliban’s supreme commander Haibatullah Akhundzada will be the top leader of a governing council, Bilal Karimi, a member of the group’s cultural commission, said. Abdul Ghani Baradar, one of Akhundzada’s three deputies, is likely to be in charge of the day-to-day functioning of the government.

“Consultations on forming an inclusive Afghan government within the Islamic Emirate’s leaders with the leaders from previous government and other influential leaders have officially ended,” Karimi said. “They have reached a consensus. We’re about to announce a functioning cabinet and government in a few days, not weeks.”

Crowds seeking to flee Afghanistan flocked to its borders while long queues formed at banks on Wednesday, as an administrative vacuum after the Taliban’s takeover posed nationwide problems.

Former Biden interpreter left behind, says report

An interpreter who helped rescue US President Joe Biden in a 2008 Afghan snowstorm is in hiding after failing to join the Kabul evacuation airlift, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Then senator Biden and two other lawmakers were visiting Afghanistan when a snowstorm forced their helicopter to land in a remote area, the Journal reported on Tuesday.

The interpreter, only named in the newspaper as “Mohammed” to protect his identity, was working regularly for the US Army at the time.