The Arg statement now confirming Mullah Omar’s presence and death in Karachi, in effect formally indicts of Pakistan unleashing a proxy war through the Taliban that has killed tens of thousands of Afghans and inflicted misery on many more.
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The Taliban appointed Mullah Akhtar Mansour as their new leader, a statement said Friday, marking a historic power transition for the militant movement that has waged a 14-year insurgency in Afghanistan.
In the statement, Mullah Omar’s family praised his dedication to jihad, or holy war, against the U.S.-led coalition and said it was the “duty of all Muslims” to follow his example by establishing Sharia law in Afghanistan.
A report in the New York Times said, “Yet even by Mullah Omar’s standards, his elusiveness in his final years was remarkable”. Indeed, it is highly plausible that Pakistan conceded Mullah Omar’s death only because it could not deliver him or his incontrovertible message for the talks when Afghan government put pressure on Pakistan for it.
He said Taliban can accept the government of Afghanistan’s invitation to join a peace process and ultimately become part of the legitimate political system of a sovereign, united Afghanistan supported by the global community, or they can choose to continue fighting Afghans and destabilizing their own country.
He served as civil aviation minister in the Taliban government which ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until it was ousted by the US-led invasion in 2001, when he fled again to Pakistan.
The 2014 resignation of Mullah Abdul Qayum Zakir, former head of the Taliban’s military commission, a former Guantanamo Bay inmate and a major opponent of peace talks, also facilitated Mansoor’s ascendancy. But beyond the fact of Mullah Omar’s death, the chatter appears to have revealed little else.
“I am against the decision to select Mullah Akhtar Mansoor as leader”, Yacoob told The Associated Press, revealing the fault lines at the top of the insurgent group a day after it confirmed the death of Mullah Omar and announced the new leadership line-up.
Yuqub is believed to oppose the talks, and he is said to have the backing of field commanders and the Taliban’s rank-and-file.
Omar’s son Mullah Yakoub was favoured to take over by some commanders, sources said, but at 26 was considered too young and inexperienced for such a key role. 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.
Pakistan cited reports of Omar’s death as the reason for the delay in negotiations, amid fears they could trigger a potentially bloody succession battle and further deepen divisions within the militant movement.
At a time that the Taliban is in a flux, due diligence is in order about what Pakistan is trying to achieve through the talks, which have now been postponed, but would likely resume in near future.
In another shift for the Taliban, it gave the No. 2 post to the head of a militant group, known as the Haqqani network, which has connections to al-Qaida.
Mujahid said earlier on Thursday that the Taliban’s official team of negotiators based in Doha was “not aware of this process” in Pakistan.
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Residents of the area, speaking to Reuters by telephone, said bodies of security personnel and Taliban fighters were lying in the streets after the battle.
