KABUL: After the death of Mullah Akhtar Mansour, who headed the Taliban after Mullah Muhammad Omar, the banned organisation has chosen Maulvi Haibatullah as their new chief, a media house reported on Wednesday.
Haibatullah Akhunzada is a religious scholar who was named in a United Nations report last year as the Taliban’s former chief justice and now he will lead the movement. Meanwhile, senior Taliban military commander Sirajuddin Haqqani and the son of Mullah Muhammad Omar, Mullah Yaqoob, have been appointed as Deputy Supreme leaders of the organization, the newspaper reported. Earlier today, the Taliban officially confirmed the news that Mullah Akhtar Mansour, the successor to Mullah Omar as chief of the Afghan rebel group, had died in an American drone strike that had targeted him at Pakistan’s Taftan area.
An official Twitter account posted the announcement of his appointment with his new title as Amir-ul-Mumineen Shiekh ul Quran Haibatullah Akhundzada. The announcement came after days of confusion during which the Taliban declined to confirm the death of Mansour. A statement was made following a meeting of the Taliban’s main shura, or leadership council saying, “All the shura members have pledged allegiance to Sheikh Haibatullah in a safe place in Afghanistan. All people are required to obey the new Emir-al-Momineen (commander of the faithful).” Haibatullah is around 60 years of age and a member of the powerful Noorzai tribe, was a close aide to Omar and is from Kandahar, in the south of Afghanistan and the heartland of the Taliban.
There has been no indication as yet of whether the appointment would lead to a shift in the stance of the Taliban, which under Mansour ruled out participating in peace talks with the government in Kabul. A spokesman for Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah called on the new Taliban leader to join talks, or face dire consequences. Spokesman Javid Faisal said “We invite Mula #Haibatullah to peace. Political settlement is the only option for #Taliban or new leadership will face the fate of #Mansoor”.
United States President Barack Obama and United States Secretary of State John Kerry had earlier confirmed the news that Mullah Akhtar Mansour had been killed in an American drone strike. However, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Federal Minister for Interior Affairs Chaudhry Nisar had refused to confirm the news.
According to seasoned journalist and an expert on Afghan matter Rahimullah Yusufzai, Haibatullah’s appointment as Taliban chief will not fully appease all factions within the Taliban. He stated that some Taliban groups and factions could oppose Haibtaullah’s appointment.
