Afghan government sends team to Pakistan to discuss peace

“We pledge our allegiance to our lord, leader of the faithful, Mullah Muhammad Akhtar Mansoor, may God protect him”, Zawahiri said.

A high-level Afghan delegation has arrived in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, to push for broader action against the Taliban militants across the troubled border region, Press TV reports.

The announcement of Taliban leader Mohammad Omar’s death – two years after the fact – not only exacerbates growing internal divisions but also undermines the movement’s legitimacy by raising questions about whether the group is simply an agent of Pakistan.

“The statement released by the Taliban movement on 30 July, while confirming the death of Mullah Omer, categorically mentions that Mullah Omer never left Afghanistan even for neighboring Pakistan“.

Self-proclaimed Islamic State militants are gaining a foothold and conducting limited military operations in Afghanistan, for now primarily targeting Taliban insurgents and their territory, a defense official said.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s decision to send a delegation to Pakistan for prevailing over Islamabad so that its support to the Afghan Taliban stops clearly shows that with the death of Mullah Omar, Pakistan has acquired a new strategic depth in Afghanistan.

Al-Zawahiri’s message – while impossible to independently verify – will be seen as significant.

Mullah Mansoor has been part of the Taliban’s core leadership since the formation of the group under Omar’s tutelage.

But splits have emerged in the Taliban following the appointment, with some top leaders, including Omar’s son and brother, refusing to pledge allegiance to Mansour.

Although al-Qaida and the Taliban were closely allied in the 1990s, the groups have long diverged in their focus, with the Taliban aiming to establish and preserve Islamic rule in Afghanistan and al-Qaida harboring global ambitions and committed to attacking the West. “(I) replaced them with Afghan products and did not buy the ones that had the Pakistani ones as the only options”, she said. Earlier this month, the Taliban’s political chief in Qatar resigned in protest over how Mansour was picked.

Although the extent of the Islamic State’s influence remains unknown, and like mentioned above, exaggerating its presence will be a mistake – the group has definitely set its sights on South Asia.

Ghani’s sharp rebuke of Pakistan signals a change in tactic, and puts in jeopardy the entire peace process – which was enabled by Pakistan’s improved relationship with Afghanistan.