Alwaght- After hours of wrangling in the meetings of the Taliban leadership council, Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansoor overwhelmed his main rival, Maulvi Yacoub the eldest son of Mullah Omar, and succeeded Mullah Omar, the former charismatic leader of the Taliban. The meeting was held in the border town of Quetta, with the presence of 20 members of the Taliban leadership council.
During the process of electing the new leader of the Taliban, Mansoor managed to overwhelm the influential figures of the Taliban such as Qayum Zakir, Sayed Tayeb Agha, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and Maulvi Yacoub, and took over the leadership of the Taliban organization.
55 year-old Mullah Mansoor is from Ishaqzai tribe, a Pashtun ethnic group in Kandahar. Similar to many Taliban leaders, he received his education in Darul Uloom Haqqania in Pakistan. He served as minister of civil aviation and transport of Taliban Emirate during the rule of the Taliban. With the overthrow of the Islamic Emirate of Taliban, and as result of the US attacks, Mullah Mansoor became a fugitive. After a while, he became a member of the Quetta Shura and in the last three years served as the group's second number-one figure.
In the absence of Mullah Omar, Mullah Mansoor was in charge of the all political, military and propaganda activities of Taliban, determining the Taliban's policies. However, he apparently used Mullah Omar's name to keep the unity among the Taliban members. The political office of the Taliban in Qatar was established with the permission of the Quetta Shura, led by Mansoor. Besides, authorized Taliban negotiators who negotiated with the Afghan government in the resort town of Murree in Islamabad and Urumqi of China, their credibility was upheld by the signature of Mullah Mansoor.
Various Pakistani sources suggest that Mullah Mansoor is a moderate leader and supports peace talks. However, he does not have the credibility and charisma that Mullah Omar enjoyed among the Taliban insurgents.
Individuals close to the Taliban have voiced their concerns over Mullah Omar's close relationship with Pakistan, saying he was encouraged by Pakistani officials to send some members or people close to the Quetta Shura to negotiate with the Afghan government. He is actually believed to have been executing policies of Pakistan towards Afghanistan. However, Pakistan has reiterated its supports for Afghan peace process to find a peaceful solution to the continuing crisis of insecurity in Afghanistan.
Mullah Mansoor has also appointed two deputies to strengthen unity among the Taliban. Sirajuddin Haqqani, the leader of Haqqani dangerous network and Hibatullah Akhundzade, the Taliban's chief justice were introduced as his deputies to end the speculations which suggest that Haqqani network, responsible for the coordinated attacks in Kabul, is not associated with the Taliban.
Nevertheless, opposition against the choosing of Mullah Mansoor as the leader of the Taliban organization was considerable. Some accused him of killing Mullah Omar and some Taliban leaders accused him of plotting coups. Therefore, it is likely that in the coming days, split appears between the Taliban members over the leadership of the movement and complying with the new leader.
It seems that chain of events that is occurring in the leadership of the Taliban, could dismiss the prospect of peace talks with the Afghan government and the Taliban.
As Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared in a statement that at the request of the Taliban leadership, and due to uncertainties emerged after the death of Mullah Omar, the second round of talks, which was supposed to be held in Pakistan, has been postponed.
In such circumstances, Mullah Mansoor should first prove his effectiveness within the Taliban organization, and then resume the negotiation process.
Although the new events concerning the death of Mullah Omar have brought Afghan peace process into a cessation, but if Pakistan fulfills its commitments to peace in the neighboring country, it seems that Mullah Mansoor can restore the uneasy peace process in Afghanistan.
