[DAWN] MULLAH Omar's customary Eid message this year indicates a paradigm shift in the views of the Afghan Taliban on war and peace in Afghanistan. His approval of peace talks marks a clear deviation from the Islamic militia's earlier hard-line position of shunning any interaction with the Kabul...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title
Most Evil Man in the Worldand didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either....
government. The statement has also tried to convey a more moderate outlook on education and relations with the outside world. This is a welcome change indeed, but its veracity is yet to be fully tested.
For sure, the statement has removed any doubts over the Murree talks having the blessing of the Taliban supremo. And that certainly lends greater credibility to the process of reconciliation. An earlier statement that had briefly been posted on the Taliban's official website had reinforced rumours about the division in the leadership over the talks. The confusion gained further currency as a result of reported comments by some members of the Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates...
political office rejecting the Pak-sponsored talks.
There have also been questions about whether the elusive supreme leader is even alive or still fully in charge. Nothing had been heard about him or from him for the past several years except for the annual Eid day messages posted on the Taliban's official website. He had not been in contact even with senior Taliban leaders. Mullah Omar
... a minor Pashtun commander in the war against the Soviets who made good as leader of the Taliban. As ruler of Afghanistan, he took the title
Leader of the Faithful. The imposition of Pashtunkhwa on the nation institutionalized ignorance and brutality in a country already notable for its own fair share of ignorance and brutality...
's prolonged absence from the scene has widened the split within the ranks. Some observers are still sceptical of the latest statement allaying the suspicion.
Notwithstanding these doubts, the representative status of the Taliban delegation to the Murree talks was undeniable. The Taliban team had the endorsement of Mullah Mohammed Akhtar, widely accepted as the deputy to Mullah Omar. A former aviation minister in the Taliban regime and a former shadow governor of Kandahar, he has long been known for his moderate views on reconciliation that pitted him against hardliners.