Asad Afridi set to replace Khorasani as JuA leader

peshawar — Senior militant commander Asad Afridi has emerged as the favourite to become the new leader of a deadly Pakistani Taleban faction, militant sources said , days after a US drone strike killed the group’s chief.

Jamaat ul Ahrar (JuA), a splinter faction of the Pakistani Taleban, has killed hundreds of people in bomb attacks and is considered one of the most dangerous militant groups in the nuclear-armed South Asian nation.

The killing of JuA chief Omar Khalid Khorasani was a major boost for Pakistan’s anti-militancy campaign and is likely to help ease tension with uneasy ally the United States days ahead of a visit by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

Two JuA commanders told Afridi was nominated to take over during a meeting in Afghanistan by the group’s Shura, or leadership council.

“Asad Afridi was close to Omar Khalid, who had declared him his deputy,” said one JuA commander.

asad afridi was close to Omar Khalid, who had declared him his deputy

JuA commander

A second JuA militant, who is a member of the Shura, confirmed Afridi was nominated as the new chief.

Khorasani was seen as ruling the group with an iron fist.

“Our organisation used to be a one-man show. All powers were in the hands of Omar Khalid Khorasani,” the second commander said. Khorasani was killed during a series of US drone attacks this week in which at least 30 people were killed on the Afghan side of the border.

His killing follows a slight thaw in relations between Islamabad and Washington, sparked by the Pakistan army last week freeing a US-Canadian couple and their three children after five years in captivity. The family was held by the Haqqani network, an Afghan Taleban-allied group.—