The Taliban will be deciding on a new flag for Afghanistan along with a new national anthem as they give final touches to government formation after taking control of the country.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid addressed the media on Monday, after they declared complete control over Panjshir Valley, the last bastion the anti-Taliban forces had been defending since Kabul fell to the insurgents.

“The next government will decide on the flag and the national anthem of Afghanistan,” announced Zabihullah. He also added that the Taliban administration will also pay salaries to the government staff.

Meanwhile, amid reports of Taliban co-founder Mullah Baradar being touted as the leader of the Taliban government in Afghanistan, Zabihullah said that Mullah Hibaullah Akhundzada is alive and will come into public view soon.

Earlier it was reported that Hibaullah Akhundzada would become the supreme leader of the Taliban administration.

The Taliban said on Monday that they have taken control of Panjshir province north of Kabul, the last holdout of anti-Taliban forces in the country and the only province the Taliban had not seized during their blitz across Afghanistan last month.

Amid reports of the National Resistance Forces spokesperson Fahim Dashti’s death in the clashes with the Taliban in Panjshir Valley, the Taliban spokesperson said that he was “killed in an internal dispute between Commander Gul Haider and General Jiraat”.

Earlier, the NRF and its leader Ahmad Massoud had confirmed the demise of Fahim Dashti, who had been one of the key faces of the Panjshir resistance.

Thousands of Taliban fighters overran eight districts of Panjshir overnight, according to witnesses from the area who spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing for their safety.

The Taliban were also seen raising their flag on the Governor’s House in Panjshir, to mark their control on the valley.