Mohammad Azam, the taxi driver who picked Mullah Mansoor up on the Iranian border to reportedly take him to the remote town of Ahmad Wal in Balochistan, some 160 kilometers west of Quetta, was killed along with the Taliban leader in the United States airstrike on May 21.
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The “we got him” rhetoric quickly overshadowed the fact that Mansour’s taxi driver, who had unwittingly picked him up at a border crossing between Pakistan and Iran, was also killed in the drone strike.
They called for action against the U.S. officials responsible for the strike.
Pakistan has formally protested to U.S. on the violation of its boundaries despite the fact that high profile leader of Taliban was attacked. The US only sees its interests in relations with Pakistan. He said that, all the facilitators involved in providing fake national identity card (NIC) to slain Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour have been arrested, Aaj news reported.
“I think the USA finally said we have given this process a chance”.
Aziz said that Pakistan had protested over the attack to the USA, and that it was also raising the issue in the United Nations.
Dawn notes that the government of Pakistan has also placed Jamaat-ud Dawa on its list of illegal organizations, as it is considered a wing of a larger jihadi network.
Pakistan termed the U.S. drone strike as an attack on its sovereignty and summoned USA envoy in Islamabad to lodge a protest.
Nawaz Sharif before becoming Prime Minister, he said, had unequivocally stated that drone attacks will not be tolerated.
The truth is possibly closer to this reading of events.
She said that given Mansoor’s closeness to Pakistan, it is doubtful that Pakistan had anything to do with his elimination. Pakistan’s loud protests, then, are at best perfunctory. He is an Islamic religious scholar, the son of a village preacher. Never again would the Taliban leadership “have the unity, authority and position as they had under Mullah Omar”. Our agencies will contact the new leadership. The decision to appoint Haibatullah may have been informed by a desire to elect the least divisive figure as leader.
Battles between Mansour and his main detractor, Mullah Mohammad Rasool, for control of the smuggling routes spread disillusionment among foot soldiers, the official said. Mansour’s short rein was marked by bitter discord among rival Taliban factions.
However, diplomats and analysts believe that Pakistan agreed to the strike, even though it would never admit it publicly, so as not to draw public outrage or prompt violent attacks by the Taliban inside the country.
A few observations can be made about what these recent events portend for Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Taliban.
Earlier, the Pakistani government refused to confirm the death of Mansour in the strike. All options of peace talks with TTP failed and Pakistan was left with no other option but to start army offensive against them.
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He said Pakistan helped the USA in Afghanistan and gave it a safe passage for exit. He was directly opposed to peace negotiations and to the reconciliation process. The Taliban will continue to control swathes of territory in Afghanistan, even as ISIS establishes a significant presence in the country.
