Taliban confirm longtime leader’s death

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN — The Taliban confirmed the death of longtime leader Mullah Mohammad Omar and appointed his succes- sor Thursday, as a new round of peace talks was indefinitely postponed amid concerns over how committed the new leadership is to ending the militant group’s 14-year insurgency.

The Afghan Taliban Shura, or Supreme Council, chose Mullah Omar’s deputy, Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, as its new leader, two Taliban figures said.

Mansoor is considered close to Pakistani authorities who hosted peace talks earlier this month, and his election could widen an internal split between fighters who favor negotiations with the Afghan government and those who want to continue an insurgency that has gained speed follow- ing the end of the international combat mission last year.

Mansoor has effectively commanded the movement for the three years since Mullah Omar’s previous deputy and co-founder of the movement, Mul- lah Abdul Baradar, was arrested by Pakistani authorities. Observers say he has the respect of battlefield commanders and is behind the intensification of the war in recent months as a means of strengthening the Taliban’s hand as it enters into a formal dialogue with Kabul.

The peace process was plunged into uncertainty earlier Thursday when the Taliban indicated they were pulling out of the negotiations and Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry announced the talks, which were to have been hosted by Islamabad beginning today, had been postponed.

The Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until they were overthrown in a U.S-led invasion in 2001. It is widely believed that Mullah Omar fled over the border to Pakistan, where he lived under Pakistani protection until his death.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has sought Pakistan’s help in bringing the Taliban to the negotiations. Islamabad is believed to wield influence over the group.

A diplomat based in Kabul who is familiar with the peace process said that since Ghani assumed power last year the government’s position has been that “the real negotiation is between Afghanistan and Pakistan.” The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity.

Despite operating in near-total secrecy, the reclusive one-eyed Mullah Omar had served as a unifying figure in the Taliban. But experts have long spoken of a divide in the movement between those who favor the peace process and those who still believe they can overthrow the government.