The caretaker head of cabinet is the white-bearded Mullah Hasan Akhund, a founding member of the Taliban who's on the UN's sanctions list.
The caretaker Minister of the Interior is Sirajuddin Haqqani. His face has rarely been seen except in a photograph, partially obscured by a caramel-coloured shawl, in a FBI wanted poster announcing a big bounty of $5m that's also on his head. His more recent claim to fame was an op-ed in the New York Times in 2020 calling for peace which failed to mention that the Haqqani Network named after his family is held responsible for some of the worst attacks on Afghan civilians. The Haqqanis insist there's no such network; they say they're part of the Taliban now.
The caretaker Minister of Defence, Mullah Yaqoob, represented by a black silhouette, is the eldest son of the founding Emir of the Taliban, Mullah Omar.
But, wait, this is just a caretaker cabinet.
At the press conference in Kabul, as a raucous chorus of questions rose from journalists in the room, it was said more posts might be announced in time. "We haven't announced all the ministries and deputies yet so it's possible this list could be extended," Ahmadullah Wasiq, deputy head of the cultural commission, told my colleague Secunder Kermani.
This may be the opening political salvo to reward and reassure their rank and file fighters, many of whom have been streaming into Kabul, to welcome the return of a "pure Islamic system".
It also appears as a carefully constructed compromise. Mullah Akhund suddenly emerged at the top, fixing in place rival political and military heavyweights including Mullah Baradar whom many predicted would take a leading role, instead of a deputy position.
