Welcoming the omission of his name from the list of wanted men, former Taliban leader Mullah Muatasim Billah on Wednesday said such steps could bring peace back to and end hostilities in Afghanistan. “Afghans have been fed up by war, violence and hostilities in their motherland,” the former Taliban leader said in a detail statement published in a local Pashto newspaper. The UN has announced omitting the name of Muatasim Billah from the list of the wanted persons.
Belonging to Panjwayee district of Qandahar province, Abdul Wasay, commonly known as Mullah Muatasim Agha Jan is considered amongst most confidential aides of Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar Akhund. He became the finance minister when the Taliban established their rule after capturing Kabul in September 1996. With the collapse of the Taliban regime in November 2001 Billah went underground and resumed activities somewhere in 2003. He was named chief of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan political affairs committee and chief of the Quetta Shura. He had reportedly backed the reconciliation policy when late Prof Burhanuddin Rabbani became the chief of the peace mission.