KARACHI, Pakistan
A powerful militant commander, who was declared dead only two days back, is now supposedly not only alive, but also issuing new statements in support of the newly-proclaimed leader of the Afghan Taliban movement.
In a new message released Sunday on Taliban websites, Jalaluddin Haqqani, the founding leader of the Haqqani militant network aligned with Afghan Taliban, urged all fighters to swear allegiance to the newly-proclaimed Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor in the aftermath of Mullah Omar’s death.
"We are sure that the new leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor is appointed with complete legitimacy and after due consultation and he is the most suitable successor of His Excellency the late Mullah Mohammad Umar Mujahid [may his soul rest in peace]. We fully recommend to all the senior and junior in-charge ranks of the Islamic Emirate [another name for Afghan Taliban] to pledge their allegiance with him and to fully obey him,” Haqqani said in the message, which was released in multiple languages, including English.
On Friday, several news outlets quoting Taliban and Pakistani intelligence sources had declared Haqqani dead. Some reports even suggested that the widely popular militant leader, who is believed to have set up bases in Pakistan and Afghanistan, died of protracted illness a year ago. However, by late Friday and Saturday, Haqqani's death was strongly denied.
According to analysts, Haqqani may have been deliberately brought back from the dead in attempts to keep the Taliban unified, especially since the new propped up leader Mansoor does not reportedly enjoy the support of all Taliban factions, including reportedly the son and brother of the deceased Mullah Omar.
“Jalaluddin Haqqani is dead. It is only a matter of time when Taliban will confirm the news as they did in the case of Mullah Omar," Rahimullah Yusufzai, a Peshawar-based expert, told Anadolu Agency. Omar's death was widely reported on Wednesday by several media outlets, who claimed the elusive Taliban leader died in April 2013 in the Pakistani city of Karachi due to natural causes.
According to Yusufzai, the release of Haqqani’s so-called message at this stage was an attempt to allay the differences within the Taliban. "This is an attempt to show to the common Taliban fighter that a legendary commander like Haqqani backs Mullah Mansoor," he said.
Mullah Mansoor and Haqqani are both considered very close to the Pakistan security establishment by many analysts, with some Afghan officials alleging that both militant leaders are in fact under complete control of the Pakistan military. Pakistan denies providing support to any Taliban leader.
Al Qaeda commander killed
Meanwhile, Pakistani security forces claimed to have killed a suspected Al Qaeda operative in the country's southwest on Sunday.
Umer Latif, dubbed as one of the commanders of Al Qaeda in its sub-continent branch, was killed in a military operation in the remote Chaghi district of Baluchistan province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, Mir Sarfraz Bugti, the home minister for Baluchistan, told a press conference.
The little known slain suspect was allegedly Al Qaeda's head for Pakistan’s Punjab and Baluchistan provinces, Bugti added.
