- FO statement says talks postponed in wake of reports regarding Mullah Omar’s death in Pakistan
- Taliban Shura appoints Mullah Akhtar Mansoor as new supreme leader in place of Mullah Omar, who they say died recently because of illness in Afghanistan
- Pakistan’s FO confirms postponement of peace talks scheduled for today in Murree in wake of Mullah Omar’s death confirmation
The Afghan Taliban have called off the second round of peace talks with the Afghan government which was scheduled to be held in Murree, Pakistan on Friday, as they confirmed the death of their supreme leader Mullah Omar, without elaborating when or where he died.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office has also confirmed postponement of the talks.
“In view of the reports regarding the death of Mullah Omar and resulting uncertainty, at the request of the Afghan Taliban leadership, the second round of the peace talks has been postponed,” said a short statement issued by the Foreign Office on Thursday. The governments of United States and China, who had observer status during the recent peace talks, have been informed of the latest development.
However, the Afghan Taliban in a statement released on their website earlier on Thursday said, “The Islamic Emirate has handed all agency powers in this regard to its political office and they are not aware of any such process.”
A statement released by Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid later in the day said “his [Mullah Omar’s] health condition deteriorated in the last two weeks” and “not for a single day did he go to Pakistan”. The statement went on to say that three days of religious ceremonies would be held “to pray for the soul of Mullah Omar”.
The militants said Mullah Omar died of “sickness”, citing family members, contradicting the Afghan government’s stance that the one-eyed warrior-cleric had passed away in the Pakistani city Karachi. Afghanistan’s premier intelligence agency had also claimed Omar died in a Karachi hospital in April 2013.
Omar’s death marks a significant blow to the Taliban, which is riven by internal divisions and threatened by the rise of the self-styled Islamic State group, the Middle East jihadist outfit that is making steady inroads in Afghanistan.
“The leadership of the Islamic Emirate and the family of Mullah Omar… announce that leader Mullah Omar died due to a sickness,” the Taliban statement said, using the movement’s official name.
TALIBAN CHOOSE NEW LEADER:
The Taliban, who were faced with the tricky process of choosing a successor to the near-mythical figure who led them for some 20 years, appointed Mullah Akhtar Mansoor as their new supreme leader on Thursday.
According to reports, the Afghan Taliban held meetings on Wednesday night, after the reported death of Mullah Omar, and after consultation between members of the Shura Council, elected Mansoor as their new chief.
Mansoor was previously Omar’s deputy, and was running the 20-member council after Omar’s death. Omar’s son Mullah Yakoub was favoured by some commanders, reports said, but at 26 he was considered too young and inexperienced for such a key role.
Another media report quoted an Afghan Taliban leader as having said that the Shura had also elected Sirajuddin Haqqani of the Haqqani militant outfit as deputy of the new Taliban leader. The report did not name the Afghan leader who made the disclosure.
The incumbent Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mansoor had served as the aviation minister during Taliban regime.
Mullah Mansoor is said to be in favour of peace talks with the Afghan government, and reportedly has appointed Haji Din Muhammad to participate in the peace process.
However, Mansoor’s appointment is unlikely to please everyone in the Taliban. Key field commanders have criticised the peace process and vowed to fight for power, rather than negotiate it.
Several have left the movement altogether, pledging allegiance to Islamic State in the Middle East and targeting the Taliban itself in a worrying new development.