MULLAH Akhtar Mansour
MULLAH Akhtar Mansour

WASHINGTON: A US air strike has killed Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour in a remote area along the Pak-Afghan border, the Pentagon announced late on Saturday night.

“Today, the US Depart­ment of Defence conducted a precision air strike, targeting Mullah Mansour in a remote area in the Pakistan-Afghan border region,” said Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook.

He said the president of the United States had autho­rised the air strike and that Pakistan and Afghanistan were both notified of it.

“Mullah Mansour was the leader of the Afghan Taliban and presented a continuing threat to our personnel in Afghanistan and to Afghan civilians, Afghan security forces and coalition members across Afghanistan.”


Mansour was prohibiting Taliban leaders from participating in peace talks, claims Pentagon


The US official noted that Mullah Mansour was an obstacle to reconciliation between the Afghan government and the Taliban and was prohibiting the Taliban leaders from participating in peace talks with the government that could lead to an end to the Afghan conflict.

The Pentagon said that since the death of Mullah Omar and Mullah Mansour’s assumption of leadership, the Taliban had conducted many attacks that resulted in the deaths of thousands of Afghan civilians and security forces as well as numerous US and coalition personnel.

“We are still assessing the results of the strike and will provide more information as it becomes available,” Mr Cook added.

Diplomatic sources in Washington said that Mullah Mansour’s death would not cause any major concerns in Pakistan’s power circles.

The sources claimed that Mullah Mansour had some ties with the Pakistanis in the past but relations became strained after he became leader of the Afghan Taliban. Pakistan made several attempts in the recent past to persuade him to join the reconciliation talks but he refused.

Diplomatic observers in Washington, however, said that Mullah Mansour’s death would further fragment the Taliban movement, which split into several factions after Mullah Omar’s death.

“His death will have both negative and positive consequences,” said one diplomatic source. “Sometimes, it is easier to deal with a unified leadership and sometimes a weakened leadership is better. We have to wait and see how this unfolds.”

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2016

Opinion

Editorial

Disregarding CCI
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Disregarding CCI

The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart.
Defeating TB
04 Nov, 2024

Defeating TB

CONSIDERING the fact that Pakistan has the fifth highest burden of tuberculosis in the world as per the World Health...
Ceasefire charade
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Ceasefire charade

The US talks of peace, while simultaneously arming and funding their Israeli allies, are doomed to fail, and are little more than a charade.
Concerning measures
Updated 03 Nov, 2024

Concerning measures

The govt must seek political input and consensus on the changes it is seeking to make and be open about its intentions.
Short-lived relief?
03 Nov, 2024

Short-lived relief?

POLICYMAKERS must be jumping with joy. At the close of the first quarter of FY25, the budget posted a consolidated...
Brisk spread
03 Nov, 2024

Brisk spread

THE surge in polio cases has reached distressing levels with a tally of 45 last reported, after two cases emerged in...