Afghan govt calls information on Mullah Omar’s death credible

The source did not give details of what evidence the Afghan government used to come to the decision, but said it had sufficient information to conclude that Omar died of hepatitis B about two years ago, and his death was kept secret to keep the group together. Truth be told, no one has seen or heard from Mullah Omar outside of a small coterie of Taliban leaders and, beyond his symbolic role as a pillar of stability within the Taliban leadership, Omar’s existence has had little effect on the broader security situation in Afghanistan and the country’s fractured reconciliation process for years now.

Mullah Omar was among the earliest members of the Afghan jihadi movement, participating in the resistance against Soviet aggression in the 1980s, and helping bring the Taliban to power in its support.

It is thought that Omar fled to Pakistan after the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, but he continued to head the Afghan Taliban movement.

BBC’s former Kabul correspondent, David Loyn, reportedly pointed out that “the failure to prove that Mullah Omar was alive was a major factor behind the defection of several senior Taliban commanders to the so-called Islamic State [ISIS/ISIL] group”.

Mullah Omar died in Pakistan in April 2013, the office of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said in an e-mailed statement late Wednesday in Kabul, citing “credible information”.

“Mullah Omar was sick and was hospitalized two years and four months ago in a hospital near the city of Karachi”.

Sayed Zafar Hashemi, Afghanistan’s deputy presidential spokesperson, said: “We are aware of the reports of the passing away of Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader“.

– Reuters pic, July 29, 2015.Taliban chief Mullah Omar has cast a long shadow over Afghanistan ever since he led a young band of zealots to power nearly two decades ago, imposing brutal Islamist rule over the country. His close ties to the 9/11 mastermind, who was killed in a 2011 US special forces raid in Pakistan, sparked Washington’s mission to oust the Taliban from Afghanistan in 2001.

A security official told a foreign news service that the claims of Mullah Omar’s death were mere speculation, designed to destabilise the negotiations.

However, Mullah Omar has not been seen in public since then.

The White House added weight to the assertion, calling reports of his demise “credible”, though it refused to be drawn on the timing and location of his death.

A Taliban spokesman contacted by the BBC said the group would issue a statement shortly.

It is widely believed that the Taliban has split among supporters and detractors of the peace talks as their war on the Afghan government has intensified in recent months.

Pakistan on Tuesday received some $336 million from the United States for its ongoing role in combating a Taliban insurgency in neighbouring Afghanistan.

Even with Omar in hiding, the Taliban has continued attacks in Afghanistan, including a June vehicle bombing at the parliament compound in Kabul.