The head of the Afghan Taliban's political office in Qatar has resigned, in the latest sign of a split in the group following Mullah Omar's death.
The head of the Afghan Taliban's political office in Qatar has resigned, in the latest sign of a split in the group following Mullah Omar's death.
In a statement, Syed Tayyab Agha said he would step down, and criticised the way in which Mullah Omar's successor, Mullah Akhtar Mansour, had been chosen.
Mullah Mansour was named leader on Thursday after Mullah Omar's death was confirmed.
However, some Taliban members said they had not been consulted on the decision.
Tayyab Agha, who previously served as Mullah Omar's personal secretary, said he was stepping down to avoid "expected future disputes".
He said it was "a great historical mistake" that the new leader had been "appointed outside the country and from the people who are residing outside the country" - a reference to claims that Mullah Mansour's appointment was influenced by circles associated with the Pakistani government.
He added that the militant group should handle all its affairs from within Afghanistan, and criticised the fact that Mullah Omar's death "was kept secret for almost two years".
The Afghan government says Mullah Omar died in a hospital in the Pakistani city of Karachi two years ago. The Taliban have since confirmed Mullah Omar's death, without specifying where, when or how he died.
The Taliban set up an overseas office in Qatar in 2013, as part of a move to launch a political arm for the militant group, with a known address and authorised representatives who could attend talks.
'Propaganda campaigns'
Tayyab Agha's resignation is the latest evidence of a divide within the militant group, with factions split over the new leadership.
At least one faction would have preferred Mullah Omar's son to succeed him, and some Taliban members have said Mullah Mansour was not appointed "by all Taliban", as not all members of the Afghan Taliban's Supreme Council had been consulted over his election.
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There are reports of deep divisions over the Taliban's new leadership
Other factions of the Taliban appear to have released videos showing members pledging allegiance to Mullah Mansour, in what is seen as an attempt to bolster support for him.
Confirmation of Mullah Omar's death has led to peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban being postponed. Pakistan had been set to host a second round of negotiations after providing a venue for talks early in July.
Some Taliban figures have accused pro-Pakistani circles of imposing Mullah Mansour, who is known for his support for peace talks, on them.
However, in an audio message on Saturday, Mullah Mansour dismissed peace talks as "propaganda campaigns by the enemy", and called for unity among the Taliban.
KABUL: The family of deceased Taliban leader Mullah Omar has refused to pledge allegiance to his successor, calling on religious scholars to settle a deepening rift within insurgent ranks over the power transition.
Mullah Akhtar Mansour was announced as the new Taliban chief on Friday after the insurgents confirmed the death of Mullah Omar, who led the militant movement for some 20 years.
But splits immediately emerged between Mansour and those who challenged his appointment, including the late leader’s son Yakoub and his brother, Mullah Abdul Manan.
“Our family… has not declared allegiance to anyone amid these differences,” Manan said in an audio message released Sunday, without naming Mansour.
“We want the ulema (religious scholars) to resolve the differences rather than declaring allegiance to any side,” said the audio message, which Taliban sources confirmed was from Manan.
“Our family will serve the new leader… if he is elected with consensus.”
The comments highlight the Taliban’s biggest leadership crisis in recent years at a time when the rival Islamic State group is making gradual inroads into Afghanistan.
Mansour on Saturday called for unity in the Taliban in his first audio message since becoming head of the group, in comments apparently aimed at averting a factional split.
The Taliban also released a video on its website showing a large crowd of supporters pledging allegiance to Mansour, in an effort to bolster support for the new leader.
The video could not be independently verified by AFP.
‘Did they deceive us?’
Yakoub and several other members of the Taliban’s ruling council walked out of the meeting at which Mansour was declared leader, refusing to pledge loyalty to him, a Taliban source told AFP.
“Part of the insurgency is troubled and needs answers from Mansour and his allies: why did they hide Mullah Omar’s death all these years? Did they deceive us by putting out fake statements in his name just to serve their own interests?” he said.
The Taliban have not revealed when Omar died but the Afghan government said he passed away in Karachi in April 2013.
But official Taliban statements in the name of Omar, who had not been seen in public since the Taliban were toppled from power in 2001, were released as recently as last month.
Another commander linked to the Quetta Shura, the Taliban’s ruling council based in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, criticised Mansour’s selection process.
He told AFP only a handful of the 20-member shura backed Mansour.
Many militants also oppose what they see as Pakistan’s attempt to force the Taliban into direct peace talks with the Afghan government.
Mansour and his two newly named deputies — influential religious leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and Sirajuddin Haqqani — are all seen as close to the Pakistani military establishment, which has historically nurtured and supported the Taliban.
But despite the open rifts the Taliban have sought to present a unified front.
A senior member of the Haqqani network, the feared Taliban-allied group led by Sirajuddin Haqqani, also urged insurgents to unite behind Mansour.
He told AFP the present discord “undermines the movement and will benefit the foreign forces”.
Mansour is seen as a pragmatist and a proponent of peace talks, raising hopes that the power transition could pave the way for an end to Afghanistan’s long and bloody war.
The announcement of Omar’s death, however, cast doubt over the fragile peace process, forcing the postponement of a second round of talks that had been expected in Pakistan last Friday.
August 4, 2015 15:53
American analyst predicts ‘bright future’ of Pakistan on economic front.
An American analyst Daniel Runde, in his recent article, has highlighted the potential of Pakistan on economic front and compared the Muslim country with that of Colombia in the late 1990s when “drugs, gangs, and failed state” were freely associated with the Andean country before it became a progressive state after surviving the worst period.
In his piece for the Forbes, Mr. Runde suggested U.S. policymakers and business leaders to look at Pakistan beyond the security lens. He said the United States ought to be Pakistan’s preferred partner given its 70-year relationship.
He wrote Pakistan will continue to experience attacks by fringe groups, but policymakers and investors need to stop operating as if the Pakistani Taliban is at Islamabad’s doorstep.
The writer believes that “Chinese investment is another reason why the United States should reassess its Pakistan calculus. Since Xi Jinping first announced the $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in 2014, the project has quickly become the centerpiece of diplomatic relations between the two countries.”
“Pakistan is the world’s 26th largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity. Its national economic growth plan, Vision2025, aims much higher. With 90 percent of the country employed through SMEs, Pakistan has one of the most entrepreneurial economies in the world.”
He said negotiations for a U.S.-Pakistan Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) have stalled due to reservations on both sides, “but a successfully concluded BIT would be a strong signal of certainty and stability for US based investors interested in deeper engagement in Pakistan.”
MUZAFFARABAD: Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir Chaudhry Abdul Majeed sacked two MQM ministers from his cabinet, BBC WORLD News Press reported on Tuesday.
A spokesman of the Prime Minister House has said that Azad Kashmir’s Prime Minister Chaudhry Abdul Majeed had asked his two ministers Mohammad Saleem Butt and Tahir Khokhar affiliated with MQM to denounce recent diatribe of MQM Chief Altaf Hussain within 72 hours, otherwise they will be relieved from their cabinet portfolios.
Mohammad Saleem Butt and Tahir Khokhar, however, relieved from their cabinet positions before the 72 hours ultimatum of the prime minister.
Moreover, Azad Kashmir Assembly’s session has been called on August 6 to discuss and pass a resolution condemning attempted incitement of the MQM chief.
Pakistan has executed Shafqat Hussain, convicted of killing a child in 2004, despite appeals from international human rights groups.
His lawyers say he was 14 when found guilty and his confession was extracted by torture, but officials say there is no proof he was a minor when convicted.
He met his family one last time before midnight, then was hanged shortly before dawn at a jail in Karachi.
Legal challenges saw his execution postponed four times this year.
But despite the postponements, legal challenges and intense lobbying, all his appeals for mercy were ultimately turned down.
The Pakistani government scrapped a moratorium on capital punishment in the aftermath of an attack on a school in Peshawar in December last years in which more than 150 school pupils and teachers were killed by the Taliban.
