Haqqani militant group backs new Taliban leader
The leader of the Haqqani network militant group has reportedly voiced support for Taliban’s recently-appointed leader, Mullah Akhtar Mansour.
On Sunday, the website of the Taliban militant group, a close ally of Haqqani’s, posted a message that it said was from Jalaluddin Haqqani as endorsing Mansour.
“We are sure that the new leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour is appointed with complete legitimacy and after due consultation” following the death of the Taliban’s former leader, Mullah Omar, the message attributed to Haqqani read.
It said that members of the Haqqani network, which has been blamed for deadly attacks across Afghanistan and Pakistan in recent years, would follow Mansour as they did Mullah Omar.
A leadership disputed
Mansour was appointed on July 31 after the Taliban confirmed that Mullah Omar had been dead for some two years.
Following the group’s appointment of Mansour, reports circulated suggesting the emergence of differences between Taliban militants over its new leadership and the future of peace talks with the Afghan government.
Earlier on Sunday, Mullah Abdul Manan, the brother of Mullah Omar, said the new Taliban leader had been “selected” by a small group of his own supporters, not by all members. Mullah Omar’s son, Yacoub, also made remarks similar to his uncle, warning that Mansour lacked the support of a wider Taliban base.
Both Taliban members have requested a new vote.
Some reports say Omar had chosen the former deputy and co-founder of the movement, Mullah Baradar Akhund, who is reportedly more inclined to peace negotiations with Kabul, as his successor.
Omar, the founder of the Taliban, brought the militant group to power following the withdrawal of the Soviet forces from Afghanistan in the 1990s. The Taliban was ousted in 2001 with the US invasion of Afghanistan.
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