06 December 2015•Update: 06 December 2015
KARACHI, Pakistan
In an apparent bid to staunch rumors of his death, Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansur has purportedly issued an audio recording, which at least some experts say appears to be authentic.
In a 16-minute audio message in the Pashtun language sent to media outlets by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, Mansur appears to speak at length about rumors of his death and stalled peace talks with Kabul.
Last week, the Afghan government -- along with a Taliban splinter faction -- claimed that Mansur had been killed in a gunfight following a meeting with a former group commander in the town of Kuchlak near the Pakistani city of Quetta.
In the audio recording, Mansur -- who was elected new Taliban chief after the death of group founder Mullah Mohammed Omar was confirmed in July -- described recent claims of his death as a "conspiracy" aimed at destroying the unity of the Taliban.
"I have never visited Kuchlak," he purportedly says in the recording. "The purpose of this whole exercise [i.e., claims of his death] is to harm our unity."
"You [Taliban members] will hear these rumors in the future also, but there is no need to heed [them]," he purportedly adds.
Regarding the resumption of stalled peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government, Mansur goes on to say that the former would not hold talks "under anyone's influence" -- a veiled reference to Pakistan, which some observers say enjoys a degree of influence over the group’s leadership.
"We will hold talks at the right time and in line with our conditions," he purportedly says, without specifying what those conditions are.
"We are not fighting for governance," he purportedly adds. "Our struggle is for implementation of Sharia [Islamic law] in Afghanistan."
- Authentic
Rahimullah Yusufzai, a Peshawar-based expert on Afghanistan affairs, for his part, believes the audio recording is authentic.
"It seems to me that this is Mullah Mansur [speaking in the recording]," he told Anadolu Agency.
"There is a close resemblance [between] the voice of Mullah Mansur and that of the man speaking on the audiotape," Yusufzai, who has met personally with Mansur in past, said.
The reason for releasing the audiotape, the expert believes, was to reassure the Taliban’s rank and file that Mansur was still alive.
"He wants to satisfy the [group’s] fighters [that he is still alive]," said Yusufzai. "In my opinion, his purpose has been served to an extent."
He went on to note that Mansur’s purported message appeared to hint at the imminent resumption of peace talks.
"When he says the Taliban will hold talks with the Afghan government at the right time and according to its conditions, this suggests that there will be a breakthrough in the near future," the expert said.
