The months-long speculation surrounding death of Mullah Omar, supreme commander and spiritual leader of the Taliban, have finally been laid to rest.
In a startling revelation, both the Afghan government and the Taliban have confirmed his death more than two years ago.
An extremely recluse leader, Mullah Omar had not made a public appearance since the fall of his government in Afghanistan in 2001. Yet, it appears that he had a strong influence and authority to run the Taliban movement from his grave. The Taliban have swiftly elected Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, another founding member of the group, as their new leader after Omar’s demise.
The appointment of Mullah Mansoor as the new chief of Taliban has raised new hopes and fears for the Afghan peace process brokered by Pakistan. In the inner circles, he is known to be a relatively moderate leader wishing to promote peace talks with the Afghan government. Therefore, his leadership may augur well to bring peace and stability back to the troubled country. However, only the naive would view the Afghan situation so simplistically. Although Mullah Mansoor had been leading Taliban under the shadow of Omar for past several years, his promotion to the top post has sparked a bitter dispute in the Taliban.
Some factions of the Taliban have opposed his succession as the new leader without a wider consensus of the movement. Further, Tayeb Agha, head of the Taliban’s Qatar-based political office, has also stepped down in protest against the cover up of Mullah Omar’s death terming it “a historical mistake.” The announcement of Mullah Mansoor was marked by some Taliban insurgents with a deadly suicide attack near a police compound. The attack signals a growing sense of insecurity faced by the security forces and civilians in Afghanistan as different splinter groups of the Taliban voice their opposition to the peace process.
The situation is likely to test Mullah Mansoor’s leadership skills and patience of the Afghan government with the Taliban. As the newly elected head of Taliban, Mansoor is faced with the stern task of uniting all groups and establish legitimacy of his command. Realizing the need to overcome splits in the movement, he has appealed for unity within the ranks in his first audio message as their new leader. Hardliner groups oppose the ongoing peace process as an attempt to bring commanders closer to Pakistan to the forefront. Mullah Mansoor, and his new deputies, Haibatullah Akhundzada and Sirajuddin Haqqani, are also known to lean toward Pakistan and push for peace talks. At the same time, the Taliban face challenge of staying relevant in Afghanistan as the Daesh gains ground in the country.
The death of Mullah Omar, believed to be a moderate with a voice of reason, is a potential setback to the Afghan peace process. Given the leadership crisis faced by Taliban after his death, the pace of negotiations could slow down or take a new direction altogether. Although Mullah Mansoor is expected to pursue the peace process, it is possible that he may have to make some compromises to bring all Taliban blocs on the same table and present a new set of conditions to the Afghan government.
This will certainly put pressure on the Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani to take a firm stance in dealing with the Taliban.
