Does This Photo Show New Taliban Leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor?

The Taliban on Friday formally announced their new leader, saying he had been running the insurgent group’s operations for years in the absence of former leader Mullah Mohammad Omar.

On Thursday, Sirajuddin Haqqani was named the Taliban’s new deputy leader as the organization announced its new leader, Mullah Mohammad Akhtar Mansoor.

For some Mansour was the obvious choice to succeed Mullah Omar, the one-eyed warrior-cleric who led the Taliban from its rise in the chaos of the Afghan civil war of the 1990s.

The Taliban commented that Mullah Omar was still alive and leading the movement, while supporters in Pakistan have denied the reports as “speculation”.

The second round of Afghan-Taliban talks had few surprises.

According to JuD spokesman Atif Khursheed, the group’s central leadership, including Hafiz Saeed, will attend the funeral. But at the same time Omar’s death also raises questions about how it was kept a secret for over two years and when US and China have been informed about it.

Afghan and Pakistani officials had said that a second round of meetings would be held between Taliban representatives and the Kabul government this week.

Sources, however, say Sirajudin Haqqani, Jalaluddin’s son, has been running the militant network for over a year now, ever since his father’s illness.

The Taliban had last released a video of the Afghan guerrilla leader in 2006 to deny the reports.

He said his uncle and Mullah Omar’s brother Abdul Manan, the top military commander Mullah Qaum Zakir, and senior leader Mullah Habibullah were demanding the Taliban hold a loya Jirga, or grand meeting, to include all Taliban commanders – including those fighting in Afghanistan – in the election of Mullah Omar’s replacement.

The dispute threatens to derail embryonic peace talks and a rift could allow other Jihadist groups, such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, a foothold in Afghanistan. A $10 million bounty was offered for Mullah Omar.

The series of moves, which also included strengthening ties with a militant faction with al-Qaida links, pointed to possible rifts within the Taliban and a potential major blow to hopes for negotiating an end Afghanistan’s 14-year conflict.

Taliban attacks against Afghan officials and forces have intensified with their annual warm-weather offensive. His son Anas Haqqani is believed to be in a Kabul prison after he was arrested in Qatar.

Political analyst Ahmad Saeedi said the Taliban’s statement could signal a total rejection of the talks. The ISI does have long links with Islamic militants in Afghanistan, including the Taliban, since at least the 1980s, when it funneled weapons and money to insurgents battling Soviet forces.