The news comes as a Taliban representative and the group’s Twitter account confirmed the death of Omar Mullah. Meanwhile, the Afghan government believes it can seize on the Taliban leadership crisis it has created by announcing that Mullah Mohammad Omar has been dead for more than two years to further weaken the insurgency.
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Even if the Taliban remain united under Mullah Mansoor, local commanders could defect to the Islamic State group, which has made some inroads in Afghanistan in recent months. The acknowledgment did not give any details of when Mullah Omar died or from what illness.
Yet the Taliban also offered some rare hints at outreach and self-reflection by apologizing for past “mistakes” under the rule of the late Mohammad Omar, whom Afghan officials said died more than two years ago.
In this photograph released by banned organization Jamaat ud Dawa (JuD) on July 30, 2015, the leader of the Jud, Hafiz Saeed (front left), leads the absentia funeral prayer in Lahore for Afghanistan’s Taliban chief Mullah Omar, who was confirmed as dead earlier in the day by the Taliban movement he founded.
But his death appeared to cast a pall on the fragile peace process aimed at ending the long war, with the Taliban distancing itself from the second round of talks slated for Friday. The Taliban founder has not been seen in public since 2001, leading to widespread speculation of his whereabouts and multiple reports of his death over the last decade.
He faces a huge challenge in trying to unite a movement already showing signs that is of fragmenting and issues about his legitimacy Has The Highest echelon of the Taliban will not bolster His position.
Taliban sources say Sirajuddin Haqqani studied in a religious seminary, Mamba-ul-Uloom, that his ailing father had established in Pakistan’s North Waziristan – a volatile tribal region near the Afghan border during the armed struggle against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. The Pakistan government, which was to host the meeting, said the negotiations were indefinitely postponed.
As the leader of the Taliban, Mansour probably won’t benefit from the same esteem that Mullah Omar had, said Kohistani.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has sought Pakistan’s help in bringing the Taliban to the negotiations since Islamabad is believed to wield influence over the group.
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Taliban attacks against Afghan officials and forces have intensified with their annual warm-weather offensive. “In battles with local security forces, the Taliban lost 20 fighters, including their local commander”, he said. After the U.S.-led invasion that toppled the Taliban, he was put in charge of political and military affairs in the Supreme Council, a seven-member body which takes major decisions. The Haqqanis are not only considered close to Pakistan but also Saudi Arabia.
