NEW DELHI -- The Taliban's elusive supreme leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada has been huddling with his battle-tested deputies in Kandahar, preparing to launch a new government in Afghanistan as the group celebrates the departure of U.S. forces.
"He is present in Kandahar, and has been in discussions with several leaders toward the launch of a new government," a Taliban spokesman told Nikkei, referring to the supreme leader.
Akhundzada has long remained out of the public eye, and his exact whereabouts are largely unknown. Now he is ironing out final details in the province where Taliban was first founded in 1994 for the imminent launch of the new Afghan government.
The majority of the Taliban's 26-member ruling council led by Akhundzada is expected to serve in the Afghan cabinet. But most of them are fighters by training, raising doubts over their ability to run the economy and day-to-day policy.
The new regime will face enormous challenges in fighting poverty, corruption and terrorism threats as it tries to rebuild the war-ravaged country. While rule by the Islamic fundamentalist group raises concerns about human rights abuses, successful economic rebuilding is unlikely without help from the international community.
Taliban fighters gather around a photo of supreme leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada in Kabul on Aug. 31. Many Taliban leaders are expected to take cabinet posts in the new Afghan government. © Reuters The Taliban this month appointed one of the group's own, Haji Mohammad Idris, as acting central banker, replacing the former government's appointee Ajmal Ahmady. Idris is believed to have received no formal financial training.
While lacking experienced economic and political professionals, the Taliban already face financial setbacks . Cash -- both U.S. dollars and the local afghani -- is in short supply after the World Bank and other international organizations cut off aid to the country, and protesters have taken to the streets amid protracted bank and ATM closures. The country has depended on international aid for over 60% of its national budget, and whether the Taliban can secure enough funding to run a government is unclear.
The economic turmoil could plunge more Afghans into poverty. One-third of residents already suffer from hunger. Russia has urged the U.S. to unfreeze Afghan central bank assets and discuss how to rebuild its economy on the international stage, Al Jazeera reported Monday.
International cooperation is critical for economic reconstruction and humanitarian relief in Afghanistan. But many countries are reluctant to work with the new government, given the Taliban's history on women's rights and Afghanistan's notoriety as one of the world's most corrupt countries, including under the former administration. The threat of terror attacks by Islamic State-affiliated groups also looms.
The Taliban have issued repeated assurances that citizens and their rights will be protected. The group has struck a conciliatory tone with the international community, stressing that it had changed since the Taliban's reign of terror from 1996 to 2001, when harsh restrictions were imposed including a ban on women's education and music.
But reports of human rights abuses by the Taliban emerged as the U.S. withdrawal progressed. An Afghan folk singer was shot dead to the north of Kabul on Sunday, The Associated Press reports, quoting family members who said he was killed for no reason just days after militants searched his home.
The Taliban are collecting civilian weapons and ammunition obtained under the previous government, and punishing those who refuse to turn them in. The group also cut off internet access in the northeastern province of Panjshir, which is home to resistance forces, Afghan media report.
Nations are divided on whether to recognize the new Taliban-controlled government in light of such developments. But further unrest in Afghanistan would expose neighbors like Russia, China and India to greater threats of terrorism, leading to calls for humanitarian relief for the country.