Taliban dispute wouldn’t keep peace talks from resuming

The Taliban statement said Mansoor assured participants of the meeting that he will honour the dignity of Omar’s family and that their viewpoints will be taken into account on all key issues.

The reversal should remove one of the main obstacles to Mansoor’s fledgling leadership but there are still a number of other Taliban commanders who oppose Mansoor as the leader. Many important Taliban figures, including those in the political office in Qatar, have yet to publicly endorse him.

Powerful relatives of deceased Taliban leader Mullah Omar will support to the group’s new chief, the organization announced Wednesday, raising the specter of a more unified and risky militancy in the region.

These include the election of a new Taliban Shura, or high council, which will be headed by a member of Omar’s family – most likely Yakoub.

“We intend to protect and keep this movement united”, a statement on the Taliban’s website reads.

A round of talks for reconciliation between the Taliban and the Afghan government that was scheduled on July 31 this year in Islamabad was called off shortly before the planned date when the news of Omar’s death was broken by the Afghan Presidential Palace.

Analysts say that although Mullah Mansour’s leadership was bought into question within the Taliban, the need to retain unity meant his leadership had now been secured, at least for now.

He said that Mullah Mansour had now been appointed as the group’s leader and efforts were under way to restart the peace process.

Elsewhere in Afghanistan, a suicide auto bombing killed four people, including the local chief of criminal investigations, in the Paghman district, west of the capital Kabul. Taliban insurgents have stepped up their attacks on Afghan soldiers and police in recent months.

A militant affiliated with the faction said the group attacked Damadola district of the Bajaur tribal area in Pakistan’s northwest, where the military has been battling a militant insurgency since 2007, late on Saturday.

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ended its combat mission in Afghanistan last December and pulled out the bulk of its troops, although a 13,000-strong residual force remains for training and counter-terrorism operations.