The interim government unveiled by Afghanistan's Taliban rulers this week - which includes Islamist hardliners, some wanted by the United States on terrorism charges - is a "worrying" sign, according to Italy's foreign minister Luigi Di Maio.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, Di Maio wrote he was "worried by the nominations for several of the top cabinet posts... given the presence of several individuals who are already known to the international community and intelligence services for their links to terrorism."
"The Taliban must show with their actions not their words that they are against terrorism also because the first moves by the new government do not show this - on the contrary," read the post.
Di Maio aired Italy's concerns that about the Taliban cabinet picks at a inter-ministerial meeting on Wednesday chaired by US secretary of state Antony Blinken and Germany's foreign minister Heiko Maas, the post said.
