Later, acting Interior Minister of Afghanistan Abdul Sattar Mirzakwal announced that the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the current Western-backed Afghan government, would surrender to the Taliban, the post-2001 continuation of the former 1996-2001 Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) (the Taliban still refer to themselves as the IEA). Mirzakwal also stated the Taliban would take control of the country through an interim government.