[LATIMES] Signs of a divide in the Taliban emerged Sunday when the apparent brother of former leader Mullah Mohammad Omar said he and others have yet to swear allegiance to the new head of the group.Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor was named as the new leader following reports last week that Omar had died in 2013.
In an audio clip sent to local media on Sunday, Mullah Abdul Manan, who identified himself as Omar's brother, said disagreements among members of the Islamic Emirate, as the group refers to itself, have kept many from swearing allegiance to Mansoor.
"Neither have we sworn allegiance to any one person, nor are we ready to pledge allegiance due to differences. ... We call on all the religious leaders to help resolve the discord rather than supporting or pledging allegiance to anyone," TOLO TV, the nation's largest private media outlet, quoted Manan as saying.
The audio recording is the latest example of discord among the nation's largest armed opposition movement. The death of their leader was confirmed by both 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 and Taliban spokesmen last week.
The Taliban's official media channels, however, are trying to downplay the reported divisions.
In an online statement, Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban front man, reported that "thousands of Moslems" across the nation have sworn allegiance to the new leader. According to the statement, leaders in 13 provinces have held allegiance ceremonies in acceptance of the new "leader of the faithful," as the Taliban head is customarily called."The groups which are engaged in war against their people and country must understand that they have been deceived by the conspiracies of the enemies of Afghanistan," the palace statement read, in part.
The reference to enemy conspiracy is believed to be an allusion to the long-held Afghan belief that neighboring countries, particularly Pakistain, are aiding and abetting the armed opposition.
Aimal Faizi, who had served as front man to former President Hamid
Maybe I'll join the TalibanKarzai
... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a
Pashtunface on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use...
, agreed.
He said the status of the Taliban leadership is of little consequence because decisions are made by others.
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...
, said Faizi, "did not really matter for the U.S. in its war on terror. They knew about his whereabouts in Pakistain."
The official confirmation of Omar's death issued by the Afghan government said he died in a hospital near the Pak port city of Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
.
Around the time of his reported death, Faizi said bigwigs in the Quetta Shura
...Mullah Omar's command center, located in Quetta, that the Pak govt hasn't been able to find since its establishment in November, 2001. Honest...
, the Taliban's chief decision-making body, informed Karzai that "they have not seen Mullah Omar for the last 10 years."