'It is all calculated ISI game'
The Taliban named Mullah Akhtar Mansour as their new chief, a historic power transition that raises hopes a more moderate leadership will pave the way for an end to Afghanistan's bloody war.
The appointment of Mansour, seen as a pragmatist and a proponent of peace talks, comes a day after the Taliban confirmed the death of their near-mythical leader Mullah Omar, who led the fractious group for some 20 years.
But the power transfer has been met with skepticism both by the Taliban militants and Afghan officials.
“They [Pakistan] want to bring in someone who can speak, negotiate and play a visible role [in the peace process], that is Mansour,” said Amrullah Saleh, the former head of Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security.
He said: “It is all calculated. It is all an ISI [Pakistani intelligence] game. The time for the mythical figure is gone. Someone reachable and touchable has to be brought in. That is Mansour.”
A border police officer, 32, who has lost six members of his family to Taliban attacks, told The Independent that district commanders of the Afghan Taliban were unsure whose orders to follow. “The Taliban are worried and confused. They are not fighting they are just talking on the radio.”
The Independent has seen evidence that, at least nine months ago, senior commanders within the Taliban knew of their leader's death and were already plotting who would succeed him. Letters allegedly intercepted by Afghan intelligence, and written nine months ago by two Taliban commanders – Mullah Mansour Dadullah and Mullah Abdul Qayum Zakir – appeared to urge Taliban members to rebel against Mullah Omar's then deputy, Mullah Akhtar Mansour.
The letters said to have been seized by Afghan intelligence both address members of the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” and accuse Mullah Mansour of plotting to kill Mullah Omar.
The first, apparently from Mullah Dadullah, says: “I am sure that the Emir of the Faithful [Omar] was martyred on the advice of... Mansour”.
The second, apparently written by Mullah Zakir, accuses Mullah Mansour “and other corrupt agents like him” of breaking off from the leadership “in the hope of taking the inheritance of the movement”. It adds: “The creator of all this problem is… Mansour and his Punjabi advisers".
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