Mullah Omar’s son given Taliban top council post

PESHAWAR: The Taliban appointed the son of its late founder Mullah Mohammad Omar as head of a military commission on Monday and named him and his uncle to its powerful decision-making body, a spokesman said.
Mullah Omar’s eldest son Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob and brother Mullah Abdul Manan were both called to the Rahbari Shoura or leadership council, Taliban spokesman Qari Yousaf Ahmadi said.
The appointment of two of its founder’s closest relatives would appear to strengthen current Taliban leader Akhtar Mansour, who still faces opposition from some factions within the movement after taking power last year.
Yaqoob, whose family name still carries great prestige among Taliban militants, was appointed head of the Taliban’s military commission for 15 provinces of Afghanistan.
“They accepted their new responsibilities and began their work from Monday,” Ahmadi said.
The elevation of the two men to the Rahbari Shoura comes nearly seven months after they dropped their opposition to Mansour’s claim on the leadership following confirmation last year that the one-eyed Mullah Omar had died some two years earlier and that his death had been covered up.
“Mansour had long offered top positions and shura membership to Mullah Abdul Manan and Mullah Yaqoob, however their formal appointment was made on Monday after approval from the shura,” one member of the shura said, asking not to be named.