Pakistan Denies Afghan Taliban Chief Injured

Another official said Mansoor was ‘fatally injured.’ But Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid quickly dismissed the claim about the shootout and Mansoor’s injury. “Akthar Mohammad Mansour is totally fine and nothing has happened to him”, he told Reuters.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said this week which he was ready to talk to Taliban members but he warned that since the departure of Mullah Omar there was “no such thing as the Taliban There are groups of Taliban…”

The Taliban have seen a string of defections in recent months following the news of the death of Mullah Omar, the former leader of the Afghan militant group.

Afghan officials on Wednesday confirmed reports of the death of his deputy, Mullah Dadullah, a prominent commander and a major rival to Mansour.

There are conflicting accounts of the incident, with different factions of the Taliban reporting different versions of events, and some are denying the shooting even took place.

The Agence France-Presse news agency, however, quoted another anonymous Pakistani intelligence official as saying Mansour was “very seriously injured” in the incident. But they have since plummeted, with Kabul blaming Islamabad for a surge in Taliban violence in 2015. They said they were seeking confirmation of the Taliban’s chief’s status.

It was last night unclear what the incident may mean for the Afghan peace process.

If confirmed, the battle exposes deepening divisions within the fractious militant movement, which saw its first formal split last month after a breakaway faction led by Mullah Mohamed Rasool surfaced – the first formal split in the once-unified group.

The leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan met in Paris on Monday to discuss ways to resurrect peace talks with Taliban insurgents and to improve relations between the neighbours that soured earlier in the year after a string of militant attacks in Kabul.

“You will always hear such kind of rumours from Afghan side whenever Pakistan will make effort to restart talks to ensure peace in the region”, a Pakistani intelligence official said.

In the event the splinter faction were behind the assault it’s not supported.

Mullah Omar died in 2013 but his death was only confirmed in July.