KABUL — The Taliban expanded their interim Cabinet by naming more ministers and deputies on Tuesday, but failed to appoint any women, doubling down on a hard-line course despite the international outcry that followed their initial presentation of an all-male government lineup earlier this month.
The international community has said that it will judge the Taliban by their actions, and that recognition of a Taliban-led government would be linked to the treatment of women and minorities.
In their previous rule of Afghanistan in the late 1990s, the Taliban had barred girls and women from schools, work and public life, according to AP.
At a news conference Tuesday, Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid held out the possibility of adding women to the Cabinet at a later time, but gave no specifics. He also said the Taliban are preparing rules for allowing teen-age girls and women to return to schools and jobs in line with Islamic law, but did not say when that might happen.
Mujahid defended the latest additions to the Cabinet, saying they included members of ethnic minorities, such as the Hazaras. He said the deputies were chosen for their technical skills.
He bristled at international conditions for recognition, saying there was no reason for withholding it. “It is the responsibility of the United Nations to recognise our government (and) for other countries, including European, Asian and Islamic countries, to have diplomatic relations with us,” he said.
