After several weeks of speculation, the Taliban has now publicly announced that Mullah Hebatullah Akhundzada will be the Supreme Leader of their new Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

Confirming the new to local media outlet TOLO News, Anamullah Samangani, member of the Taliban’s cultural commission, said that the new government has been finalised and an announcement would soon be made, wherein Akhundzada will be the leader of the new administration.

“Consultations on the new government are almost finalised and necessary discussions have also been held about the new cabinet. The Islamic government that we will announce will be a model for the people. There is no doubt about the presence of the Commander of the Faithful (Akhunzada) in the government. He will be the leader of the government and there should be no question about this,” Samangani was quoted by TOLO News as saying.

Reports in local media have also emerged that state that there will also be a person who would assume the role of prime minister.

“The name of the new system should neither be republic nor emirate. It should be something like an Islamic government. Hebatullah should be at the top of the government, and he will not be the president. He will be the leader of Afghanistan. Below him there will be a prime minister or a president that will work under his oversight,” a political analyst told the Afghan news broadcaster.

After their blitzkrieg to bring down the Ashraf Ghani government, the Taliban has appointed several governors and police chiefs for the provinces and districts that are under their control. Only the province of Panjshir is not under Taliban’s governance yet.

“The Islamic Emirate is active in each province. There is a governor in each province, who has started working. There is a district governor for each district and a police chief in each province,” Abdul Hanan Haqqani, another Taliban member, reportedly said.