By Lynne O’Donnell And Mirwais Khan, The Associated Press on July 31, 2015.
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“Mansoor was elected by his own group, and we will not accept him as the supreme leader of Taliban”, he said on condition of anonymity.
The US and its European allies became convinced of Mullah Omar’s death this week only because word had finally gotten out among senior Taliban leaders, who were telling anyone who would listen, a Western official said.
The election, which was reported yesterday, has not been officially confirmed by the Taliban.
Mullah Mansoor reportedly served as an “active director” of the Taliban’s struggle to regain control of Afghanistan. However, the group refused to give information where and when Omar had died.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Thursday confirmed that Omar was dead, although his statement indicated he had died recently rather than over two years ago as the Afghan government had said on Wednesday.
Jalaluddin’s son Sirajuddin has long been installed the head of the Haqqani Network, which is said to be based in the volatile tribal regions of Pakistan and behind many coordinated attacks on Afghan and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation forces in recent years.
He was chosen following “a prolonged discussion” by the Taliban’s leadership council, it said. According to earlier reports, talks were scheduled to take place in Xinjiang’s provincial capital Urmuqi, but shifted to Pakistan, where the first round was held.
“These numerous groups and fighters not only affect stability and security, but may also strain any future peace processes with the Taliban, as there is increasingly no single entity with which to negotiate”, Sopko added. It meant Mullah Omar was viewed by the Taliban and al-Qaida as the leader of Muslims, although he never declared himself caliph. Instead, he said, a small number of leaders had made the decision. Further splintering within the Taliban could see more local commanders defect to other extremist groups, such as the Islamic State group, which has taken control of large parts of Iraq and Syria and is believed to have recruited some Taliban as it tries to establish a presence in Afghanistan.
He is considered a moderate and a supporter of peace talks.
As the leader of the Taliban, Mansour probably won’t benefit from the same esteem that Mullah Omar had, said Kohistani.
Taliban’s new chief appointed Sirajuddin as his deputy, underscoring links between the Taliban and the Haqqanis, blamed for some of the deadliest attacks in Afghanistan, including a suicide bombing at Indian Embassy.
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He is known to have close ties to al Qaeda, and after the fall of the Taliban regime in the 2001 US-led invasion, he joined the insurgency.
