At a news conference in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, Sartaj Aziz said authorities were awaiting DNA test results, after which Mansour’s body will be handed over to his relatives.
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In a statement sent to the media, the Taliban said their new leader is Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, one of Mansour’s two deputies.
The Taliban on Wednesday confirmed Mansour’s death and named Maulavi Haibatullah Akhundzada as his successor.
Akhundzada is a religious scholar known for issuing public statements justifying the existence of the extremist Taliban, their war against the Afghan government and the presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan.
The Taliban has been fighting to overthrow Afghanistan’s government since being driven out by U.S.-led forces in 2001.
Multiple US drones targeted Mansour as he rode in a vehicle in a remote area in Pakistan along its border with Afghanistan, south-west of the town of Ahmad Wal, according to a US official. Mansour’s killing is a major blow to the militant movement just nine months after he was formally appointed leader following a bitter power struggle upon the confirmation of founder Mullah Omar’s death.
When asked if another drone attack is in store for the new Taliban Chief if he rejects the peace process, Toner said: “I’m not going to predict who we might target in the national security interests of the United States”.
“The new leader’s appointment is a good opportunity for the Taliban to return to peace talks and rebuild their country”, Afghan presidential spokesman Dawa Khan Menapal told AFP.
Taliban elected a new chief on Wednesday after confirming the killing of Mullah Akhtar Mansoor in the first-ever drone strike in Balochistan on Saturday. Sirajuddin Haqqani and Mullah Yaqoob were appointed deputy leaders of the movement.
It said he was chosen at a meeting of Taliban leaders, which was believed to have been held in Pakistan.
The US officials had called Mansour a major impediment to peace talks, and some had expressed hope his death would eliminate an obstacle to peace negotiations between the Taliban and the government of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.
“The Pakistanis have relied on the Taliban and the Haqqanis to protect their interests in Afghanistan and prevent India from increasing its influence there”, the editorial said. Instead, the two men were selected as deputies under Akhundzada.
“In the short-term, we anticipate that the Taliban will continue to pursue an agenda of violence and blowing up innocent people”.
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It also says Pakistan believes the death of Mansour has further endangered an already fragile peace process, and “will further destabilize Afghanistan, which will have negative implications for the region”.
