By Staff, Agencies

The Taliban on Tuesday announced an all-male interim government for Afghanistan stacked with veterans of their rule from the 1990s and the 20-year battle against the US-led occupation.

Appointed to the key post of interior minister was Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is on the FBI's most-wanted list with a $5 million bounty on his head and is believed to still be holding at least one American hostage.

Drawn mostly from Afghanistan's dominant Pashtun ethnic group, the Cabinet's lack of representation from other ethnic groups also seems certain to hobble its support from abroad.

As much as 80% of Afghanistan's budget comes from the international community, and a long-running economic crisis has worsened in recent months. Near daily flights from Qatar bring in humanitarian aid, but the needs are massive, and the Taliban can hardly afford isolation.

In announcing the Cabinet, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid emphasized that the appointments were temporary. He did not say how long they would serve and what would be the catalyst for a change.

Since taking over Afghanistan in mid-August after US troops withdrew, the Taliban have shown no indications they will hold elections.

The US State Department in a statement expressed concern that the Cabinet included only Taliban, no women and personalities with a troubling track record, but said the new administration would be judged by its actions.

The carefully worded statement noted the Cabinet was interim, but said the Taliban would be held to their promise to give safe passage to both foreign nationals and Afghans, with proper travel documents, and ensure Afghan soil would not be used as to harm another.

"The world is watching closely," the statement said.

The interim Prime Minister, Mullah Hasan Akhund, also headed the Taliban government in Kabul during the last years of its rule. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who had led talks with the US and signed the deal that led to the withdrawal, will be one of two deputies to Akhund.

“Our message to our neighbors, the region and the world is that Afghanistan's soil will not be used against the security of any other country,” the statement said.

It urged foreign diplomats, embassies, consulates and humanitarian organizations to return to Afghanistan. "Their presence is the need of our country," it said.

The statement spoke of protecting the rights of minorities and the underprivileged, and it promised education "to all countrymen within the framework of Sharia."

Abdul Salam Hanafi, an ethnic Uzbek, was named as second deputy to Hasan Akhund.

Besides Haqqani as head of the police, the other top security post of defense minister went to Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the son of Taliban founder and near mythic figure Mullah Mohammad Omar.