Despite the display of bravado and the release of an official Taliban video showing a variety of Afghan clerics and elders pledging loyalty to Mansour, he faces internal opposition from relatives of Omar, militant commanders and other influential Taliban members who question the hasty, secretive meeting in the Pakistani city of Quetta at which Mansour was chosen.
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The audio message said fighters should unite as “division in our ranks will only please our enemies”. “This is a big responsibly on us”. Kabul held talks last month with the Taliban in an attempt to work towards a peace process for the war-ravaged nation, though the second round of talks that had been expected in Pakistan on Friday was postponed following the announcement of the death of Mullah Omar. The Afghan Taliban group’s new chief on Saturday rejected peace talks between the group and the government, APA reports quoting Anadolu Agency.
But though Mansour obliquely referenced the talks in his audio message, saying any negotiations would be in “accordance with sharia”, it was not clear if he supported them. “I have no differences with new Amir Mullah Akhtar Mansoor and all such reports are baseless”.
“This is a moment of opportunity” for the Taliban to choose war or peace, Washington’s special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Daniel Feldman, told journalists Friday. Mujahid said the meeting occurred the same day that Mansour was selected to replace Omar and that several people in attendance made an oath of allegiance to Mansour. Details of his death released by the Taliban did not specify exactly where he died, just that he died of ‘an illness.’.
Mansoor’s name first rose to public prominence in 2010 when western intelligence officials spent tens of thousands of dollars ferrying a “senior commander” to Kabul for peace talks, only to discover that they had been courting an imposter, a grocer pretending to be Mansoor. Enemies are endeavoring to “fracture and undermine the Taliban’s jihad and empower themselves”, he said.
Omar’s brother, Abdul Manan, issued a recorded message in Pashto on behalf of the dead leader’s family to say they will not accept any new chief without the agreement of all leading members of the militant group.
The statement made no specific mention of the Taliban or Mullah Omar, who is widely thought to have been sheltered by Pakistan after he fled across the border during the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan.
Be proactive – Use the “Flag as Inappropriate” link at the upper right corner of each comment to let us know of abusive posts. He vowed that the group would continue fighting, until “we [the Taliban] bring an Islamic rule to the country”. But on Saturday, a Taliban spokesman denied this.
Omar’s fate had been unknown until the government said he had died more than two years ago in a Pakistani hospital. “Yet even by Mullah Omar’s standards, his elusiveness in his final years was remarkable”.
He is commonly referred to as Khalifa and is heading the Haqqani network of insurgents known for staging some of the deadliest attacks against U.S.-led coalition forces in Afghanistan.
Political analyst Ahmad Saeedi said the Taliban’s statement could signal a total rejection of the talks.
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Jalaluddin’s son Sirajuddin was elected as the Taliban’s deputy to Mansoor – a move possibly aimed at ensuring a cash flow from the Haqqanis’ wealthy backers and appeasing hardliners, luring back Taliban fighters who had defected to rival organizations such as the Islamic State group.
