The Taliban appointed 44 of its members to key roles including provincial governors and police chiefs on Sunday. It is first large-scale round of appointments announced since the cabinet was formed in September.

The Taliban released the list of its members' new roles, including Qari Baryal to serve as governor of Kabul and Wali Jan Hamza as the city's police chief.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid in a statement on Sunday announced the names of the new provincial governor, deputy governor and military commander.

According to an official statement, Qari Baryal has been appointed governor of Kabul, Mufti Mohammad Idrees will serve as his deputy and Wali Jan Hamzah will be the military commander of the Afghan capital.

Afghanistan's interim government, led by Muallah Hassan Akhunzada, has also appointed Abdul Ghani as governor of Badakhshan province, Muhammad Ali as governor of Paktia province, Nisar Ahmad as governor of Kunduz province while Qari Bakhtiar and Haji Mali Khan have been appointed governors of Baghlan and logar provinces, respectively.

Likewise, Abdullah Mukhtar will serve as governor of Paktika province, Abdullah Sarhadi from Bamiyan, Haji Dawat from Uruzgan, Rouhani Sahib from Farah, Abdul Rehman Sar-e-Pol and Shoaib from Jowzjan. Ishaq Akhunzada has been appointed governor of Ghazni province.

The developments come days after the Taliban's supreme leader warned of the dangers of dissidents and intruders in the movement that has taken over Afghanistan.

Haibatullah Akhundzada issued a rare written public statement urging Taliban commanders to clear their ranks.

"All the parents of their group should look into their ranks and see if there are any unidentified entities working against the will of the government, which must be eradicated as soon as possible," he said as quoted by The Express Tribune.

"Whatever wrong is done, the elder will be held accountable for the consequences of actions in this world and in the hereafter," he warned in a statement.

Image Courtesy: Reuters