Mullah Mansoor was killed by the US drone strike on Saturday afternoon (Pakistan time) when he was traveling in a vehicle near a small town named Ahmad Wal in Balochistan Province which borders Afghanistan and Iran. Pakistani authorities have always been accused by both Kabul and Washington of giving shelter and support to some Taliban leaders – an accusation that Islamabad denies.
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The breakaway faction, led by Mullah Mohammad Rasool, did not appear to object so much to Akhundzada as to the closed and undemocratic manner of the selection process by the council, which is believed to have met in Pakistan.
“The power struggle within the organization will continue”, Yousafzai told DW.
But there was hesitation, as senior Taliban figures chose Akhundzada only after two other candidates were ruled out, said two members of the council who attended the meeting. “The body will not be handed over till we get the DNA report”.
But “all indicators” at present point that it was Mansour, Aziz added.
Haibatullah, 50, was the first deputy of Mullah Mansoor. He is said to maintain close links with the Quetta Shura, the Afghan Taliban leaders said to be based in the Pakistani city of Quetta.
Obama, speaking at a news conference in Shima, Japan, on the sidelines of a summit of world leaders, said he never expected “a liberal Democrat to be the newly appointed leader of the Taliban”.
Akhundzada is believed to be in his fifties, hails from Afghanistan’s southern province of Kandahar. He was not among the founding members of the Taliban movement launched by Mullah Omar in 1994. “Once our other allies are released from prison, we will decide who will be the leader of the entire group”. “He is unlikely to negotiate with the Afghan government”.
Some analysts predict that, should Haqqani accept the new leadership structure, he could continue his military leadership role.
Instead, some experts said, Akhundzada was likely to pursue aggressive attacks throughout the summer, intensifying the pressure on Obama to reconsider his plan to withdraw United States military trainers and special forces and leave the decision on how to end America’s longest war to his successor.
Some U.S. officials had expressed hope that Mansour’s death would eliminate an obstacle to peace negotiations between the Taliban and the government of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.
The Taliban also appointed Sirajuddin Haqqani and former leader Mullah Muhammad Omar’s son Mullah Muhammad Yaqoob as Haibatullah Akhundzada’s deputies.
The US killing of Mansour showed that Washington has at least for now abandoned hopes of reviving the direct peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban, which broke down last summer.
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“Our group has two major conditions for peace: the implementation of Islamic law in the country, and the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Afghanistan”, Mullah Niazi underlined.
