British newspaper The Scotsman said in a report on Saturday that Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar’s son-in-law was part of a secret delegation that met western officials in Qatar this year to broker an Afghan peace deal. Citing Afghan sources familiar with the talks and a senior western official in Kabul, the newspaper said Omar’s son-in-law Motasim Agha Jan was one of three emissaries sent to the Gulf to make contact with the Americans. According to the newspaper, diplomats insisted the discussions in Qatar and at least one meeting in Germany were just “talks about talks”. It quoted British sources as saying they were still not sure if the men spoke for Mullah Omar, the spiritual leader of the Taliban and the only man with enough authority to deliver a meaningful ceasefire.
Two former Taliban ambassadors told The Scotsman that Mullah Omar had given the mission his personal blessing and identified a second delegate at the talks, Taib Agha, as a close aide to the insurgent leader. The presence of Agha Jan, who the ambassadors said was married to one of Mullah Omar’s daughters, also appeared to corroborate claims of the leader’s endorsement, said the newspaper. A long-time confidant of Mullah Omar, Jan was appointed to the head of the Taliban’s political commission in 2008, and would have been in charge of prospective contacts with western governments and Kabul, said the newspaper. The newspaper said Jan’s presence in Qatar might also reveal something of Pakistan’s hidden hand in efforts to end the decade-long war. Jan was arrested in Pakistan last year, said the paper, adding that it was not clear when or why he was released, or how he got out of Pakistan for the talks.