Senior Afghan Taliban sources confirmed the death of their chief Mullah Mansoor in a US drone strike on 21 May, adding that a council is underway to decide his successor.
It is rumoured that Mansoor’s aide Sirajjudin Haqqani is likely to succeed him as kingpin of the Taliban.
The drone attack comes barely a year after Mansoor took up the role of chief.
A passport found at the site of the US drone attack targeting the Taliban leader bore the name of a Pakistani man named Wali Muhammad and carried a valid Iranian visa according to the Pakistani Foreign Ministry.
Reports claim that US did not notify Pakistan until after the strike in Balochistan.
Interviews with officials suggest that Pakistan is furious with the decision, stating that Taliban will not be ready to negotiate after this incident.
So far, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and the US have all issued contrarian statements.
Afghan Officials Say Attack ‘Successful’
Syed Zafar Hashemi, acting Spokesman for Afghan President, addressed a press conference on 22 May. He told Reuters that the drone strike targeting Mansoor appeared to be successful.
The raid was done in agreement with Afghan authorities. It seems to be successful. We are assessing for confirmation. Our hope and understanding is that in the wake of these new developments an Afghan-led peace process would result in bringing lasting peace and stability.Syed Zafar Hashemi, acting Spokesman for Afghan President
Even Afghanistan’s Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah tweeted that Mansoor was dead.
Obama Confirms Death
US President Barack Obama confirmed Mansoor’s death, saying the event marks an “important milestone” in the longstanding effort to bring peace in Afghanistan.
In a statement issued by the Whitehouse, Obama, who is in Vietnam, said:
Mansoor’s death removes the leader of an organisation that has continued to plot and unleash attacks on US and has waged war against the Afghan people.
Pakistan Calls Incident “Attack on Sovereignty”
Pakistan said the air strike had destroyed a car carrying two people in Balochistan. One of the bodies had been identified as a local taxi driver but the badly burnt second body had not. It added that the purported passport holder was believed to have returned to Pakistan from Iran on 21 May.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif , who had not been informed about the strike in advance, told reporters in London that Pakistan was unsure if Muhammad was “Mullah Mansoor or someone else”. He also called the attack “a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty”.
Iran Denies Mansoor’s Visit to the Country
Iran issued a statement that denied allegations that Mansoor entered Pakistan from the Iran before being killed in a US drone strike.
Pakistani security officials told AFP on Sunday that the man killed on Saturday in the southwestern province of Balochistan, believed at the time to be Mansoor, had just returned from Iran when his vehicle was attacked.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as denying Mansoor had been in the country before the attack.
The competent authorities of the Islamic republic deny that this person on this date crossed Iran’s border and into Pakistan.Iran welcomes any positive action leading to peace and stability in Afghanistan.Hossein Jaber Ansari, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman
Iran supports the Afghan government in its fight against the Taliban group, while on the other hand, Islamabad hosts many of the Afghan Taliban’s top leadership to exert influence over them and bring them back to peace talks with Kabul.
President Ashraf Ghani, meanwhile, arrived in Tehran for the signing of a tripartite agreement between Iran, India and Afghanistan to turn Iran’s southeastern port of Chabahar into a transit hub between the three countries, bypassing Pakistan.
(With agency inputs)
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