July 29, 2015

Afghan Taliban Leader Mullah Omar Said to Have Died in Pakistan




Mullah Omar, the reclusive cleric who founded Afghanistan’s Taliban guerrilla movement and sheltered al-Qaeda leaders as they plotted the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S., is dead, an Afghan government official said.Omar died two or three years ago, across the border in Pakistan, the official said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. The Afghan government and Taliban declined to confirm or reject the reports.

“We have reports of Mullah Omar’s demise,” Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s deputy spokesman Sayed Zafar Hashemi told reporters at a hastily called briefing in Kabul on Wednesday. “We are checking these reports. Once we get a full confirmation on that, we’ll let you know.”Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said by phone the group was gathering information on reports of the death and would release a statement shortly.The news of the death comes days before the Taliban and Ghani’s administration are reportedly due to hold a second round of peace talks. While it isn’t known if factions loyal to Omar had supported the talks, the Taliban in April had published a biography of the one-eyed jihadist, claiming he was alive and in charge of the militant group.

“This news is aimed at influencing the outcome of talks with the Taliban and reflects infighting within the group,” said C. Uday Bhaskar, director of the Society for Policy Studies in New Delhi. “The militant part of Taliban that doesn’t want talks could be trying to assert itself by leaking this news and appoint a new leader to revive the movement.”

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Kutte ki poonch tedi - Rawalpindi Rascal 

If Mullah Omar dies so quickly who will pay him and call him on TV shows for interviews. 
Mullah Omar and Taliban stories are his post retirement income source.


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