Shortly after the Taliban militants group released an audio recording purportedly from the group’s supreme leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, some senior Taliban leaders have said the audio has been faked and that he is no more alive.
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According to the Dawn, the 16-minute audio recording says that “rumours” of Mansour’s death had been planted deliberately to weaken the Taliban. This incident by no means occurred and it isn’t true.
A man purporting to Mullah Mansoor dismissed the reports as propaganda and an attempt to further to spread the propaganda regarding growing difference among the Taliban ranks which led to infighting.
In Islamabad, Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesman Qazi Khalilullah has said authorities are not aware of the alleged firefight in Kuchlak area near Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province.
Rahimullah Yousufzai, a Pakistani analyst and long-time observer of the Taleban, said the voice sounded like Mansour’s.
Afghan officials said on Wednesday that Mansoor had been wounded on Tuesday in Pakistan.
Vehement denials by the group of any firefight have fallen on skeptical ears, especially after they kept the death of longtime chief Mullah Omar secret for two years.
The release of the belated news of his death triggered a battle of succession among the Taliban as Mulla Akhtar Mansour quickly got himself chosen as Mulla Omar’s successor by the Rahbari Shura (leadership council).
Mansour was declared Taliban leader on July 31 after the insurgents confirmed the death of Omar, who led the movement for about two decades. The officials were quoted as saying Mullah Mansoor was killed at a peace meeting between him and Mullah Abdullah Sarhadi – a follower of Mullah Mansour Dadullah, a rival in a Quetta suburb. He died in 2013 however this was not confirmed till two years later.
Last month, the breakaway faction of the Taliban elected its own leader, Mullah Mohammed Rasool Akhund, sparking speculation over the unity of the group.
But Mansour’s group has seen a resurgence in recent months, opening new battlefronts across the country with Afghan forces struggling to beat back the expanding insurgency.
But the dialogue process stalled soon after Omar’s death was announced.
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He was believed to be a proponent of such talks, a stance which prompted rancor among hardline insurgents.
