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Afghanistan Says Mullah Omar, Taliban Leader, Died in 2013 Afghanistan Says Mullah Omar, Taliban Leader, Died in 2013
(about 4 hours later)
KABUL, Afghanistan — After months of speculation, Afghan officials announced Wednesday that they were now certain that the Taliban’s reclusive leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar, died in Pakistan in 2013. KABUL, Afghanistan — After months of speculation, Afghan officials announced Wednesday that they were now certain that the Taliban’s reclusive leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar, died in a Pakistani hospital in 2013.
The announcement, first by a spokesman for the National Directorate of Security and followed by a statement from the Afghan president’s office, came two days before negotiators claiming to represent the Taliban leadership are scheduled to sit down and talk peace with the Afghan government in Pakistan. In recent months, the talks, along with growing confusion and disagreement over Mullah Omar’s status, have proved divisive within the Taliban, leading some commanders to publicly question the group’s leadership or even break away. The announcement is not likely to conclusively settle the question of Mullah Omar’s fate. Afghan officials offered no evidence regarding his death or how they had come to find out about it. And though American officials called the report credible, they, too, were publicly reticent about details or to explain how the news was only coming to light now, even as the Taliban insurgency is gaining momentum on Afghan battlefields.
“There’s no doubt,” said Abdul Haseeb Sediqi, the spokesman for the N.D.S., the Afghan spy agency, in a telephone interview late Wednesday. “We confirm he is dead. He died in April 2013, two years back, in Karachi.” But if true, the death of the Taliban’s legendary unifying figure offers a likely explanation for a brewing power struggle within the group’s ranks. Confusion about Mullah Omar’s condition led some commanders in recent months to publicly question whether he was alive or even to break away and claim loyalty to other groups, including the Islamic State.
A White House spokesman, Eric Schulz, said in a briefing that American officials were aware of the reports and found them “credible.” But he stopped short of confirming Mullah Omar’s death, saying, “The intelligence agencies are right now reviewing these reports.” When asked why the United States was just now becoming aware of the Taliban leader’s death after two years, Mr. Schulz said, “I’m just not going to be able to comment on the specifics.” It would also cast more uncertainty on the new peace process between the Taliban and the Afghan government, who were scheduled to have their second official face-to-face meeting in Pakistan on Friday. Already not accepted by some wings of the Taliban, the peace process could force further rifts within the group without a widely accepted successor to Mullah Omar to support them.
Some official caution may be understandable: The Afghan spy agency also pronounced Mullah Omar dead in 2011, only to back off those claims later. And a spokesman for the Taliban, Zabihullah Mujahid, told the Voice of America on Wednesday that the new death claims were false. Some of the official hedging about the details of Mullah Omar’s condition may be understandable: The Afghan spy agency also pronounced him dead in 2011, only to back off those claims later. And a spokesman for the Taliban, Zabihullah Mujahid, told the Voice of America on Wednesday that the new death claims were false.
Even given the growing mystery around him in recent years, Mullah Omar had proved a remarkable unifying figure for the Taliban’s far-flung factions for decades. Even given his impenetrable reclusiveness, and the growing mystery around him in recent years, Mullah Omar proved a remarkable unifying figure for the Taliban’s far-flung factions for decades.
A respected veteran of the mujahedeen fight against the Soviets in the 1980s, he began the Taliban movement with a small band of supporters and students from his madrassa in rural Kandahar Province in the early 90s. Born out of disgust with the corruption and excesses of feuding Afghan warlords, the Taliban rose to conquer the country. It ruled as the government from 1996 till the American invasion in 2001 — and presented a rallying success story for jihadists around the world. Born in 1960, Mullah Omar became a respected veteran of the mujahedeen fight against the Soviets in the 1980s, and he began the Taliban movement with a small band of supporters and students from his madrasa in rural Kandahar Province in the early 90s. Born out of disgust with the corruption and excesses of feuding Afghan warlords, the Taliban rose to conquer the country.
Mullah Omar’s movement quickly became known for harsh justice and a fearsomely rigid enforcement of the most conservative Islamist social mores, staging mass public executions and beating women who did not completely cover themselves in burqas. It ruled as the national government from 1996 till the American invasion in 2001 — and presented a rallying success story for jihadists around the world. Among them was Osama bin Laden, another former mujahedeen fighter who used the shelter offered by Mullah Omar to build up his terrorist group, Al Qaeda.
Mullah Omar’s movement quickly became known for harsh justice and a fearsomely rigid enforcement of the most conservative social mores, staging public executions and beating women who did not completely cover themselves in burqas.
Within the Taliban, Mullah Omar ruthlessly purged disloyal commanders or would-be defectors, and adamantly refused to talk peace with the Afghan government while foreign military forces remained in the country.Within the Taliban, Mullah Omar ruthlessly purged disloyal commanders or would-be defectors, and adamantly refused to talk peace with the Afghan government while foreign military forces remained in the country.
Now, the reports of his death cast further uncertainty over the fate of the current peace talks, which began July 7 with the first official face-to-face meeting between Afghan government and Taliban representatives at a resort in Murree, Pakistan, near Islamabad. Another meeting is set for Friday in Pakistan. Now, the reports of his death cast further uncertainty over the fate of the current peace talks, which began July 7 at a resort in Murree, Pakistan.
The peace process has proved a divisive issue within the Taliban, and has exposed evidence of a power struggle brewing among its leaders. The insurgents’ official political office, in Doha, Qatar, initially declared that the July meeting was invalid because Taliban officials in Qatar were not present and had not approved it. The peace process has proved a divisive issue within the Taliban. The insurgents’ official political office, in Doha, Qatar, initially declared that the July meeting was invalid because Taliban officials in Qatar were not present and had not approved it.
At the same time, the Taliban’s deputy leader, Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, said that he had authorized the talks, suggesting that he carried the imprimatur of Mullah Omar’s leadership. At the same time, Afghan officials said they had been told that the talks were authorized by the Taliban’s deputy leader, Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour,suggesting that he carried the imprimatur of Mullah Omar’s leadership.
One senior Afghan government official said Mullah Omar’s death could be good news for the peace process. “He was seen as being among the most hard-line, extremist members of the leadership council of the Quetta Shura,” the Taliban’s central organization, the official said. Indeed, a statement attributed to Mullah Omar in his annual message commemorating the Eid holiday this month expressed philosophical support for negotiations the peace talks even as fighting continued.
On the other hand, a statement attributed to Mullah Omar in his annual message commemorating the Eid holiday this month expressed his supposed support for the peace talks. Reports about the Taliban leader’s death have surfaced repeatedly over the past decade, fueled by his complete absence from public view since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001. To this day, there is only one known photograph of him alive.
Reports about the Taliban leader’s death have surfaced repeatedly over the past decade, fueled by his complete absence from public view since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001. But they intensified last week when a breakaway faction, Feday-e-Mahaz, posted a statement saying Mullah Omar had died two years ago and was buried in Zabul Province in southern Afghanistan. The talk intensified last week when a little-known breakaway faction that has opposed peace talks, Feday-e-Mahaz, posted a statement saying Mullah Omar had died two years ago and was buried in Zabul Province in southern Afghanistan.
On Wednesday, the Afghan government hurriedly convened a news conference at which, officials told journalists beforehand, they planned to announce Mullah Omar’s death. But at the news conference, Sayed Zafar Hashemi, the deputy spokesman for President Ashraf Ghani, said only, “We have seen those reports, but we are still in the process of assessing those reports.”On Wednesday, the Afghan government hurriedly convened a news conference at which, officials told journalists beforehand, they planned to announce Mullah Omar’s death. But at the news conference, Sayed Zafar Hashemi, the deputy spokesman for President Ashraf Ghani, said only, “We have seen those reports, but we are still in the process of assessing those reports.”
Later, the spy agency’s spokesman, Mr. Sediqi, made the announcement firm. Later, Abdul Haseeb Sediqi, the spokesman for the National Directorate of Security, the Afghan spy agency, made it official. “There’s no doubt,” he said in a telephone interview late Wednesday. “We confirm he is dead. He died in April 2013, two years back, in Karachi.” But he offered no details about the circumstances, how the agency knew, or where Mullah Omar might be buried.
He said Mullah Omar had died in a Karachi hospital but did not say which hospital or what he died of; nor did he reveal how the agency knew this. He said it had no information on where he was buried. A White House spokesman, Eric Schulz, said in a briefing that American officials were aware of the reports and found them “credible.” But he stopped short of confirming Mullah Omar’s death, saying, “The intelligence agencies are right now reviewing these reports.” When asked why the United States was just now becoming aware of the Taliban leader’s death after two years, Mr. Schulz said, “I’m just not going to be able to comment on the specifics.”
A different N.D.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence, said that Mullah Omar had been “suffering from a disease” at the time of his death. The official added, “We do not know about the whereabouts of his graveyard or whether he received a ceremony.” A different American official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence, said American officials had heard “chatter” in recent days among senior Taliban members about their leaders’ possible demise. Still, the official cautioned that the communication, which was picked up through electronic surveillance and other sources of intelligence, was not definitive.
The official said that the Afghan intelligence service had learned of Mullah Omar’s death a year and a half ago and that since then, “a lot of our international allies have confirmed the death.” But he said he could not discuss the evidence that had led the Afghan government to conclude that Mullah Omar had died. A different N.D.S. official, who like other Afghan officials spoke about the matter only on condition of anonymity, said that the Afghan intelligence service had learned of Mullah Omar’s death a year and a half ago and that since then, “a lot of our international allies have confirmed the death.”
Mullah Omar had been “suffering from a disease” at the time of his death, the official said, adding: “We do not know about the whereabouts of his graveyard or whether he received a ceremony.”
The official said that in the last years of his life, Mullah Omar had been relatively itinerant and was believed to have spent some time in Rawalpindi, home to the headquarters of the Pakistani military, among a host of other places.The official said that in the last years of his life, Mullah Omar had been relatively itinerant and was believed to have spent some time in Rawalpindi, home to the headquarters of the Pakistani military, among a host of other places.
“Because of the American drones, they were changing his place very often,” the official said.“Because of the American drones, they were changing his place very often,” the official said.
A senior Afghan security official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, insisted that the intelligence on Mullah Omar’s death as credible. “This is not a single source of intelligence, there are a couple,” the official said. “Different agencies and different countries were involved in that.” Though Pakistani military and intelligence officials are widely known to keep tabs on senior Afghan Taliban members and to control their movements to some degree — the peace talks began in large part because of Pakistani pressure for the Taliban to attend — there has been no public hint from them that they knew the whereabouts of Mullah Omar or of his death.
The official said that Mullah Omar’s body had been “taken by unknown people to an unknown location. We don’t believe he’s in Afghanistan.”
But the official also admitted that actual evidence was hard to come by, and said he and others were not aware of any photographic evidence of Mullah Omar’s body. “Not many people have seen this guy alive, so I think not many people are going to see him dead,” the official said.
In 2011, a spokesman for the Afghan intelligence service, Lotfullah Mashal, was quoted as saying that Pakistan’s spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence, had killed Mullah Omar after United States Navy SEAL members killed Osama bin Laden. The Afghan agency later backed off that claim, saying at a news conference late last year that he “might” be dead but that they were unsure.In 2011, a spokesman for the Afghan intelligence service, Lotfullah Mashal, was quoted as saying that Pakistan’s spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence, had killed Mullah Omar after United States Navy SEAL members killed Osama bin Laden. The Afghan agency later backed off that claim, saying at a news conference late last year that he “might” be dead but that they were unsure.
Speculation about Mullah Omar’s death has intensified over the years since he disappeared from public life, with the exception of written pronouncements issued by spokesmen claiming to speak for him, after his regime was toppled in 2001.Speculation about Mullah Omar’s death has intensified over the years since he disappeared from public life, with the exception of written pronouncements issued by spokesmen claiming to speak for him, after his regime was toppled in 2001.
The last audio statement attributed to Mullah Omar was issued nine years ago, in 2006, and its authenticity has been questioned.The last audio statement attributed to Mullah Omar was issued nine years ago, in 2006, and its authenticity has been questioned.
Feday-e-Mahaz posted a statement on its Facebook page last week scoffing at claims by the Taliban spokesman, Mr. Mujahid, that Mullah Omar was alive. Mr. Mujahid said the mullah stayed out of sight and did not even issue audio statements for his own safety. On Wednesday, a European diplomat said that while incontrovertible proof of Mullah Omar’s death had not been forthcoming, there was nothing to suggest he was alive.
“We would like to say that the whereabouts of Mullah Omar is known to everyone, and his grave is in Zabul, may his soul rest in peace,” the Feday-e-Mahaz statement said. “It’s a balance of probability,” the diplomat said, summing up the basis for the growing consensus that Mullah Omar is dead. “The fairest thing to say is that there is nothing to contradict it.”
Feday-e-Mahaz, about which little is known, said its claims were more credible than the Taliban’s denials, boasting that it had previously revealed plans by the Taliban to open an office for peace talks in Qatar, which the insurgents had initially denied. The group also made widely disputed claims that it had carried out the killing of a Swedish radio reporter, Nils Horner, in Kabul in 2014. The diplomat referred to intelligence indicating that Taliban commanders were discussing among themselves, with a variety of opinions, whether Mullah Omar was alive or dead. “Almost everyone believes the chatter wouldn’t be where it is if there wasn’t something significant here,” the diplomat said, adding, “It has never been at this volume or intensity before.”
Members of Feday-e-Mahaz are among the hard-liners who oppose peace talks between the government and insurgents. That is a change from a few years ago, when Western intelligence officials said they believed Mullah Omar was active and living under official protection in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city. Even then, Mullah Omar was rarely seen by most Afghans, or even lower-level Taliban figures.
A senior Western diplomat in Afghanistan said recently that diplomats had seen no recent evidence that Mullah Omar was alive. The growing belief, even among lower-level Taliban commanders, that their leader is no longer alive has fed dissension in Taliban ranks and is cited as one of the reasons that the Islamic State extremist group has begun to make some inroads in Afghanistan. A commander in Helmand Province named Mirwais explained his defection to the Islamic State by saying: “We respect Mullah Omar. But if he is alive, why does he not appear and guide us?”
“The theory that most Western embassies believe is that he is likely dead, or if not dead, then very ill,” the diplomat said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to discuss intelligence issues. That is a change from a few years ago, when Western intelligence officials said they believed Mullah Omar was alive and living under official protection in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city. But even with the confusion, the Taliban’s offensive this year has reached a new peak, with the insurgent fighters directly threatening a provincial capital, Kunduz, for the first time in many years, and inflicting record casualties on the Afghan security forces.
Even when he was clearly still alive, Mullah Omar was rarely seen by most Afghans because of the Taliban’s religious prohibition on photography of living creatures. There is only one confirmed photograph of him. There were many audio messages, however, and Feday-e-Mahaz scoffed at Taliban claims that he was refraining from making new audio messages for security reasons. “That is an illogical argument, and no one will accept this,” the group said.
The belief, even among many lower-level Taliban commanders, that their leader is no longer alive has fed dissension in Taliban ranks and is cited as one of the reasons that the Islamic State extremist group has begun to make some inroads in Afghanistan. A commander in Helmand Province named Mirwais explained his defection to the Islamic State by saying: “We respect Mullah Omar. But if he is alive, why does he not appear and guide us?”