Taliban form council to govern Afghanistan, include Hamid Karzai, Abdullah, Mullah Baradar

Kabul:  The Taliban on Tuesday (August 24) formed a 12-member council to govern Afghanistan. The council will include ex-Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, the High Council for National Reconciliation chief Abdullah Abdullah and Taliban co-founder Abdul Ghani Baradar, Sputnik said quoting sources.

Seven of the twelve candidates have been already agreed upon, a source close to senior Taliban circles said.

"Afghanistan would be governed by a 12-member council, with the exception of the president and the emirate. So far, the council has agreed on Abdul Ghani Baradar, Mullah Yaqub (son of Taliban founder), Khalil-ur-Rehman Haqqani, Dr Abdullah Abdullah, Hamid Karzai, Hanif Atmar and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar," the source said.

The discussions for appointing the remaining five members of the council are ongoing.

Afghan National Army Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum and ex-Balkh province governor Atta Mohammad Noor may not join the council, the source added.

The Taliban are in the process of forming a new government after the fall of Kabul last Sunday.