Peace in Afghanistan is a distant dream. After the withdrawal of NATO forces from combat duty, Taliban fighters are becoming stronger.
Taliban fighters will continue shed blood of government forces and civilians. As if it is not enough, Taliban fighters will not hesitate to kill one another for the power.
Taliban fighters killing Taliban fighters is nothing new. And now again, amid a widening rift over succession following the previous Taliban supremo Mullah Omar’s death, Taliban fighters have started killing each other.
At least nine Taliban fighters including a senior commander were killed in a clash broke out between rival Taliban militants that took place in western Herat province of Afghanistan following a verbal clash between the militants regarding the appointment of the group’s new supreme leader.
Warmongers cannot live peacefully…
~ Amrit Pal Singh ‘Amrit’
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Islamabad, August 3
Amid a widening rift over succession following Mullah Omar’s death, senior Taliban leaders opposed to Mullah Akhtar Mansour’s nomination as the group’s supremo have launched a parallel council, according to a media report.
The senior Taliban members, opposed to Mullah Mansour’s ascendancy, yesterday launched their parallel ‘Shura’ or council and declared themselves as the ‘Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’, the Express Tribune reported.
“A few people announced Mullah Akhtar Mansour as the new leader at a meeting where neither majority of the Shura members nor Ulema were invited,” the council said in a statement.
“They imposed Mullah Mansour’s leadership on the Islamic Emirate for vested interests,” it said.
The dissidents were quoted as saying that they would convene a meeting of the council members, Islamic scholars and national figures to elect a new chief.
Mutasim Agha Jan, the former finance minister and a close confidant of Mullah Omar, has also refused to submit to the leadership of Mullah Mansour, an official close to Mutasim told the daily.
Similarly, Mansoor Dadullah, who leads the Dadullah Front, has also refused to endorse Mullah Mansour’s election. Earlier, Mullah Omar’s family has also refused to pledge allegiance to Mullah Mansour.
Mullah Omar’s younger brother Mullah Abdullah Mannan, in an audio message recorded in the Pashto language, has demanded that a council meeting of pro-Taliban clerics and militant commanders be called to deliberate and resolve the challenge facing the group.
“Our family… has not declared allegiance to anyone amid these differences,” Manan said in the audio message.
Meanwhile, a clash broke out between the Taliban militants for the first time since the confirmation of Mullah Omar’s death.
The incident reportedly took place in western Herat province of Afghanistan today following a verbal clash between the militants regarding the appointment of the group’s new supreme leader, Afghanistan’s Khaama Press reported.
At least nine Taliban insurgents including a senior commander were killed during the infighting, the report said.
The militants were divided in two groups over allegiance to Mullah Mansour which led to the gun battle, it said. — PTI