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Mullah Muhammad Omar

Mullah Muhammad Omar

Taliban

Afghanistan

20030330

Afghanistan

Top Taliban Leaders Consider Deposing Supremo Akhundzada Over Afghan Women’s Education

2023-02-01

[News18] First Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Baradar front-runner as issue of women’s education splits Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... , a high-level source tells News18 Senior Taliban functionaries are considering deposing supreme leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, top sources in Afghanistan said, as mounting frustration on the issue of women’s education threatens to rupture the unity of the government. First Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar is emerging as the person most likely to supplant Akhundzada if the Amir-ul-Momineen is ousted, a high-level source told News18, emphasizing that the discussions are at an early stage. The decision, in December last year, to ban women from universities, has become a flashpoint in the top echelons of the Taliban. As News18 reported, Interior (Home) Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani ...son of Pashtun warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani, still titular head of the Haqqani Network.... and Defence Minister Mullah Mohammad Yaqub are not in favour of the crackdown by the hardliners and want the government to reverse course. But their negotiations with the supreme leader have not borne fruit as Akhundzada is insisting that he will not reverse the ban under international pressure. But Haqqani and Yaqub are unwilling to accept this position, arguing that international support is vital for Afghanistan, the sources said. "This (Akhundzada’s) is not a logical reason," a top source said. "High officials are therefore thinking about a solution and how to change the leader." The doors of education are shut to women and girls from middle school onwards, and all women in public are required to cover themselves from head to toe in a burqa. Recently, the government also banned women from working in non-governmental organizations which help provide aid in the impoverished country. Haqqani and Yaqub (the son of Taliban founder Mullah Muhammad Omar), who lead the moderate faction, have been attempting a rapprochement with major foreign powers as they struggle to manage Afghanistan’s shattered economy. Together they control the security forces and hold sway over large swathes of the country. One of the options that Taliban officials considered was to have Haqqani as the Amir-ul-Momineen but the interior minister is not interested in the position. Besides, he may not enjoy acceptance in the southern region of Kandahar, which is the Taliban’s headquarters. Yaqub was also considered for the job, but his youth (he is thought to be about 33 years old) went against him. This meant that Baradar has emerged as the likeliest contender for the top post in the Taliban. It will not be easy to depose the Kandahar-based Akhundzada, though, as he enjoys the support of key governors and has loyalists in several branches of the government. The governors of Kandahar and Khost province ... across the border from Miranshah, within commuting distance of Haqqani hangouts such as Datta Khel and probably within sight of Mordor. Khost is populated by six different tribes of Pashtuns, the largest probably being the Khostwal, from which it takes its name... s are thought to be loyal to Akhundzada, and so also some military commanders. Afghanistan said it had outlawed university education for women because women were dressing ’improperly’: in the words of the higher education minister, ’as if they going to a wedding instead of college.’ The ban came in the backdrop of a widening political schism between the moderate and Death Eater factions of the Taliban. The moderates, led by Haqqani and Yaqub, are pitted against the supreme leader Akhundzada and his allies in the Taliban heartland of Kandahar.

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Afghanistan

Mullah Omar not visited Pakistan over the past 25 years, claims Taliban

2016-12-29

[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Taliban group founder and ex-supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar not visited Pakistain over the past 25 years, the Death Eater group claimed Wednesday. The group released a statement to reject a report regarding a meeting between Mullah Omar ... a minor Pashtun commander in the war against the Soviets who made good as leader of the Taliban. As ruler of Afghanistan, he took the title Leader of the Faithful. The imposition of Pashtunkhwa on the nation institutionalized ignorance and brutality in a country already notable for its own fair share of ignorance and brutality... and a Norwegian diplomat in a luxury hotel in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistain. "A western newspaper ’The New York Times ...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... ’ published a report citing a Norwegian diplomat ‐ Alf Arne Ramslien ‐ who claimed initially talking twice on the phone??? with the late Amir ul Mumineen Mullah Muhammad Omar Mujahid (may Allah have mercy on him) and even meeting him at a later stage in Pakistain during the year 2009. This report has then gone on to write many fabrications under this title," the statement said. The statement further added "We categorically reject this report from start to end. The late Amir ul Mumineen Mullah Muhammad Omar (may Allah have mercy on him) had not visited Pakistain over the past 25 years nor did he talk with anyone via telephone following the American invasion. And neither did he have the habit of meeting with diplomats especially with foreign diplomats during the time of occupation when he had millions of dollars of bounty on his head." According to the group "It is plausible that this diplomat has made such assertions for his own fame or that he was duped by some individual." This comes as Taliban’s top commander Mullah Mansoor Dadullah confirmed earlier in August last year that Mullah Omar did not die naturally but was assassinated, confirming the reports suggesting Mullah Omar was mysteriously killed in April 2013 in a hospital in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... city of Pakistain. Mansoor Dadullah is the brother of the former senior Taliban capo Mullah Dadullah who was actively operating in southern Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... province before he was killed during an operation in Helmand province in 2007. The Afghan Intelligence ‐ National Directorate of Security ...the Afghan national intel agency... (NDS) earlier said Monday the Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar was mysteriously killed in a hospital in Karachi city of Pakistain. Mullah Omar’s death was first confirmed by a splinter group of the Taliban ‐ Afghanistan Islamic Movement Fidai Mahaz, which claimed that he was assassinated Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansoor and Gull Agha. The group’s front man Qari Hamza said last year Mullah Omar was killed two years ago in the month of July.

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Afghanistan

Tailban's new chief Mullah Akhtar Mansoor may have deceived fellow insurgents

2015-08-01

[INDIANEXPRESS] Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, Taliban's newly-anointed chief, may have deceived fellow gunnies for the past two years by claiming to pass orders and messages from Mullah Muhammad Omar even though he would have been aware that his boss had died in 2013, a media report said. "Yet even by Mullah Omar ... a minor Pashtun commander in the war against the Soviets who made good as leader of the Taliban. As ruler of Afghanistan, he took the title Leader of the Faithful. The imposition of Pashtunkhwa on the nation institutionalized ignorance and brutality in a country already notable for its own fair share of ignorance and brutality... 's standards, his elusiveness in his final years was remarkable. Only a handful of high-ranking Taliban had any access to their leader, and by the middle of 2013 that number had been winnowed to one: Mullah Akhtar Mansour, effectively the No 2 in the insurgency," a report in the New York Times ...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... said. It said that Afghan and American intelligence indicated that Mullah Omar was probably dead by 2013.

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-Obits-

Mullah Omar: The reclusive face of Afghan insurgency

2015-07-30

Posted to obits on the assumption he's really dead. [DAWN] According to Taliban biographers, Mullah Omar ... a minor Pashtun commander in the war against the Soviets who made good as leader of the Taliban. As ruler of Afghanistan, he took the title Leader of the Faithful. The imposition of Pashtunkhwa on the nation institutionalized ignorance and brutality in a country already notable for its own fair share of ignorance and brutality... was born in the Chah-e-Himmat village of Khakrez district in Kandahar, Afghanistan in the year 1960. His father Maulvi Ghulam Nabi was a religious scholar as were other members of his family. After the death of his father, Mullah Omar moved to Deh-Rawood district of Uruzgan province where he sought religious education under the supervision of his paternal uncles Maulvi Muhammad Anwar and Maulvi Muhammad Jummah. At the age of eight, Mullah Muhammad Omar joined the primary seminary of Shar-e-Kohna area in Deh-Rawood district. After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, Mullah Omar joined the fight against the Soviets and rose to prominence as a "tough fighter" and an "efficient commander". In 1992, after the collapse of Afghan president Dr Najibullah's government and with the eruption of civil war between various mujahideen factions, Mullah Omar ceased combat activities and set up a religious seminary in Gishaan village of Sang-e-Hisaar area of Maiwand district in Kandahar province. He then continued with his religious studies along with his former mujahideen colleagues after the war against the Communist forces. Maulvi Sadiq, a Taliban official in Kandahar province said in 2011 that after the Soviet withdrawal, the creation of the Taliban movement and its subsequent advance was triggered by the kidnapping and rape of a young girl in Kandahar by a local warlord. According to him, Mullah Omar and some of his old colleagues decided to take on the warlord who had allegedly kidnapped and raped the girl. Other seminary students also joined them and the group transformed into the Taliban movement of the 1990s. The government of Afghanistan under the Taliban was referred to as the 'Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan' and was formed with an initial cadre 1,500 religious scholars and seminary students from Afghanistan, who pledged allegiance to Mullah Omar. The initial pledge of allegiance eventually gained momentum and spread to other areas, with many religious scholars from the region pledging support. Around this time, Saudi billionaire the late Osama bin Laden ... who is now among the dear departed, though not among the dearest... along with his entourage comprising hundreds of Arab fighters and commanders moved to Afghanistan and pledged allegiance to Omar. Al Qaeda emerged and its ties with the Taliban movement grew strong in a short period of time, especially post-911, when Mullah Omar refused to hand over bin Laden to the United States. In addition to bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri ... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area. That is not a horn growing from the middle of his forehead, but a prayer bump, attesting to how devout he is... , Al Qaeda's top tier commanders such as Mustafa Abu Yazid, Abu Yahya al-Libi, Sheikh Issa al-Masri and others were successful in influencing the Taliban, convincing them to change many of their opinions, from issues of Islamic jurisprudence to the general worldview that shifted from an Afghan-centric mindset to that of global jihad. Despite public statements from the Taliban which have given the impression of a local resistance movement, the Afghan Taliban have once again provided sanctuaries to Al Qaeda operatives -- this time to the fighters escaping operation Zarb-e-Azb ..the Pak offensive against Qaeda in Pakistain and the Pak Taliban in North Wazoo. The name refers to the sword of the Prophet (PTUI!)... in Pakistain. Mullah Omar was recently confronted with a new challenge -- the rise of His Supreme Immensity, Caliph of the Faithful and Galactic Overlord, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ...formerly merely the head of ISIL and a veteran of the Bagram jailhouse. Looks like a new messiah to bajillions of Moslems, like just another dead-eyed mass murder to the rest of us... 's self-styled Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... For now, the majority of Islamist Lion of Islam groups seem to have preferred Mullah Omar's softer approach rather than Baghdadi's brutality.

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India-Pakistan

TTP Chief Mullah Fazlullah ousts Commander Umar Khorasani

2014-09-08

[DAWN] Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) chief Mullah Fazlullah ...son-in-law of holy man Sufi Mohammad. Known as Mullah FM, Fazlullah had the habit of grabbing his FM mike when the mood struck him and bellowing forth sermons. Sufi suckered the Pak govt into imposing Shariah on the Swat Valley and then stepped aside whilst Fazlullah and his Talibs imposed a reign of terror on the populace like they hadn't seen before, at least not for a thousand years or so. For some reason the Pak intel services were never able to locate his transmitter, much less bomb it. After ruling the place like a conquered province for a year or so, Fazlullah's Talibs began gobbling up more territory as they pushed toward Islamabad, at which point as a matter of self-preservation the Mighty Pak Army threw them out and chased them into Afghanistan... ousted its Mohmand Agency ... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar... chief Umar Khalid Khorasani from the organization on charges of "conspiring against the Emirates of Afghanistan Emir Mullah Muhammad Omar, and having links to shadow turban organizations". In what appears to be a further disintegration of the Pak Taliban structure, well-placed sources within the TTP told Dawn.com that a meeting of the Taliban Shura led by Mullah Fazlullah decided to oust Wali Muhammad alias Khalid Khorasani as Mohmand Agency chief, and also cancelled his TTP membership. The meeting observed that Khorasani had been conspiring against the Afghan Taliban led by Mullah Muhammad Omar and had formed "dubious" organizations such as Junad-e-Hafza, Ihrarul Hind and now the splinter group Jamatul Ihrar. The Shura determined that this was damaging the TTP cause. In the last few days, Umar Khalid Khorasani and his associates in Mohmand Agency had accused the TTP leadership of deviating from the TTP ideology, leading to the formation of splinter group TTP Jamatul Ihrar. The group had announced they would no longer recognise or obey Mullah Fazlullah as their Emir. They also claimed the support of other like minded commanders from FATA and Malakand division.

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India-Pakistan

Al-Qaida Declares New Branch in Indian Sub-Continent

2014-09-04

[An Nahar] Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri ... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area. That is not a horn growing from the middle of his forehead, but a prayer bump, attesting to how devout he is... declared Wednesday in a video message that the global Islamist murderous Moslem movement has launched a new off-shoot in the Indian-sub-continent. In the video, found in online jihadist forums by the SITE terrorism monitoring group, Zawahiri said the new force would fight to revive a Moslem caliphate in Burma, Bangladesh and parts of India. Zawahiri called on the "umma," or Muslim nation, to unite around "tawhid," or monotheism, "to wage jihad against its enemies, to liberate its land, to restore its sovereignty and to revive its caliphate." He said the group would recognise the overarching leadership of the Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar and be led day-to-day by senior Pakistani fighter Asim Umar. Umar also speaks in the video - using the Urdu language of Pakistan rather than the Egyptian doctor Zawahiri's native Arabic - along with a new group spokesman identified as Usama Mahmoud. Ynet adds: Zawahri called for unity among bully boyz and criticized "discord" – echoing a common al-Qaeda complaint against Islamic State's record of clashing with rival Islamist groups in Syria. The statement also warned al-Qaeda's new wing against oppressing local populations - another complaint leveled against Islamic State by critics in Iraq and Syria. "If you said that you are doing jihad to defend the sanctities of the Moslems, then you must not transgress against them or their money or honor, and not even transgress your mujahedeen brothers by word and action," he said. "Discord is a curse and torment, and disgrace for the believers and glory for the disbelievers," he said. "If you say that by your jihad you do not want but the pleasure of Allah, then you must not race for governance and leadership at the first opportunity."

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India-Pakistan

Pakistani govt has no authority to hold dialogue: TTP

2013-06-26

[Pak Daily Times] The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) has claimed that the government of Pakistain does not have the authority to hold talks. TTP front man Ehsanullah Ehsan has said that if the group sees that the elected government is able to take a stand against the country's intelligence agencies, only then will the option of talks be considered. In an email statement issued on Tuesday, TTP Eshan said that the TTP leadership considers Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Muhammad Omar as their supreme commander and has taken an oath of jihad on his hand. "TTP fighters are always ready to obey Omar's commands," he said. Ehsan accused the media of doing negative propaganda against the Taliban to spread mistrust among its members. He said that some groups in the guise of Afghan Taliban tried to attack the TTP but the interference of Afghan Taliban on the demand of TTP foiled the conspiracy against the latter. Commenting on the offer to resume peace talks with the newly elected Pak government led by Pakistain Mohammedan League-Nawaz (PML-N), the front man said the TTP is closely monitoring the policies and activities of the Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf

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India-Pakistan

New jihadi magazine appeals for help against drones

2013-05-07

[Dawn] A new jihadi magazine set up by gunnies in Afghanistan and Pakistain has appealed to Moslems around the world to come up with technology to hack into or manipulate drones, describing this as one of their most important priorities. The first issue of the English-language online magazine, called "Azan", was published on May 5, the SITE intelligence monitoring group said. It compared Azan to "Inspire" magazine, set up by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). In what appeared to be an acknowledgement of the effectiveness of US drone strikes, the magazine said these were affecting the war in the Wazoo tribal areas of Pakistain -- where al Qaeda is based along with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) and Afghan Taliban fighters. Devoting a section of the 80-page issue to drones, it said these represented a challenge to the Moslem community, or Ummah. "With the death of so many Moslem assets, Interesting phrase in this context. Are we to understand that jihadis and their friends ought to be considered assets to the Ummah? this is one of the utmost important issues that the Ummah must unite and come up with an answer to," said the magazine, which opens with excerpts from speeches from Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar and late al Qaeda leader the late Osama bin Laden ... who doesn't live anywhere anymore... "Any opinions, thoughts, ideas and practical implementations to defeat this drone technology must be communicated to us as early as possible because these would aid the Ummah greatly in its war against the Crusader-Zionist enemy." Western officials say drone strikes have been highly effective in disrupting the activities of al Qaeda and its allies in the tribal region bordering Afghanistan. Critics object to the secrecy of the drone programme, question its legality and raise concerns about civilian casualties.

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India-Pakistan

Pakistan must broker Afghan peace: US Amb.

2012-08-14

KABUL: US Ambassador to Afghanistan James Cunningham on Monday urged Pakistan to play a "positive, cooperative" role in nurturing a reconciliation that Taliban suspended in March after accusing US officials of failing to honour confidence-building promises. He also encouraged Pak citizens to play the Powerball, pointing out similar odds of success... Pakistan had a role to play in the peace process, he said. "We want to see Pakistan play a positive, cooperative role on this across the board. Pakistan obviously has a role to play here and we are encouraging them to play that role." There are signs that Taliban are considering peace talks with the Afghan government and "contacts" are taking place, the ambassador said. His comments came as Afghan officials said government representatives had held secret talks with a key member of Taliban, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who is being held in a Pakistani jail. Baradar, whose 2010 arrest in Pakistan was blamed by Kabul for sabotaging peace initiatives, is the most important Taliban leader held in prison and was known as a trusted aide to the terrorists' elusive leader Mullah Muhammad Omar. The ambassador, who formally took up the post on Monday, did not refer directly to those talks, but told a news conference in answer to a question, “There are contacts taking place, mostly at this point among Afghans – Taliban and Afghans.” Cunningham said the United States had made no decision on the transfer of Taliban prisoners held at the military prison at Guantanamo Bay – an issue which led the terrorists to break off tentative contact with Washington earlier this year.

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Afghanistan

Afghan officials met key Taleban figure in Pakistan

2012-08-13

KABUL/ISLAMABAD: Afghan officials have held secret talks with the Taleban's former second in command who is in detention in Pakistan in a move which could help rekindle stalled peace talks with the insurgents, according to senior officials from both countries. Afghan officials have often seen Pakistan as a reluctant partner in attempts to broker talks with the Taleban Since the ISI owns the Taliban and isn't willing to shut them down... but its decision to grant access to Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar may signal Islamabad's willingness to play a more active role. Rangin Spanta, the national security adviser to Afghan President Hamid Karzai and an architect of peace-building efforts, said an Afghan delegation had met Baradar in Pakistan two months ago. Baradar has been in detention since he was captured in a joint operation by the CIA and Pakistani intelligence agents in the Pakistani city of Karachi in 2010. “We have met Mullah Baradar,” Spanta told Reuters in Kabul. “Our delegation has spoken to him to know his view on peace talks.” Afghan officials have publicly been demanding access to Baradar, the Taleban's top military commander until he was captured, but Spanta's revelation shows preliminary contact has already been made. Rehman Malik, Pakistan's interior minister, also said that Pakistan had granted Afghan officials access to Baradar. “They had access at the required and appropriate level,” Malik told Reuters. “We are fully cooperating with Afghanistan and whatever they are asking for the peace process, for developing peace in Afghanistan. We are giving every kind of help.” Baradar was the main day-to-day commander responsible for leading the Taleban campaign against US and NATO troops, plotting suicide bombings and other attacks. He was the right-hand man to reclusive Taleban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar providing him with great influence and prestige in Taleban circles. Afghan officials hope Baradar could play a key role in any negotiations to end the war, acting as a go-between with Taleban leaders including Omar. Although Afghan officials may be pinning hopes on Baradar, it is unclear what influence he may have over a complex insurgency after spending years in detention.

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India-Pakistan

Taliban factions regroup to fight US forces

2012-01-04

[Dawn] All jihadi groups, in consultation with Islamic Emirate Afghanistan (shadow Taliban government in Afghanistan), have decided to set up a committee to set aside differences in their ranks and step up support for war against western forces in Afghanistan. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Taliban Shura held at an unspecified place on Monday. A statement issued in the form of a pamphlet to the media in Wazoo after the meeting said: "All Mujahideen --local and foreigners --are informed that all jihadi forces, in consultation with Islamic Emirate Afghanistan, have unanimously decided to form a five-member commission. It will be known as Shura-i-Murakbah." The committee comprises Maulvi Azmatullah, Maulvi Noor Saeed, Maulvi Saeedullah, Maulvi Sadar Hayat and Hafeez Amir Hamza. According to sources, Azmatullah (Taliban capo in Barwan) represents the Waliur Rehman group, Noor Saeed (Taliban capo in Barwan) the Hakeemullah Mehsud group, Saeedullah (from Afghanistan) the Haqqani group, Sadar Hayat (from North Waziristan) the Maulvi Gul Bahadar group and Amir Hamza (from Ahmedzai Wazir tribe) the Mulla Nazir group in Wana subdivision of South Waziristan. Spokesman for the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistain Ihsanullah Ihsan confirmed that the meeting had been held and the statement dated Dec 31 was issued after approval by Taliban's supreme leader Mullah Omar ... a minor Pashtun commander in the war against the Soviets who made good as leader of the Taliban. As ruler of Afghanistan, he took the title Leader of the Faithful. The imposition of Pashtunkhwa on the nation institutionalized ignorance and brutality already notable for its own fair share of ignorance and brutality... The sources said the committee had been formed to resolve differences among various cut-thoat factions, regroup them and investigate killings on spying charges and excesses, if any, committed by the Taliban against local people. "All Mujahideen, local and foreigners, are informed that they should desist from killing and kidnapping for ransom innocent people and cooperate with this committee in curbing crimes. If any Mujahid is found involved in unjustified killings, crimes and other illegal activities he will be answerable to Shura-i-Murakbah and will be punished in accordance with the Shariah law," the statement says. The sources said the high command of Pak and Afghan Taliban had been trying for two months to reach an agreement on uniting different factions. The first meeting in this regard was held on Nov 27 in Azam Warsak near Wana. It was attended by Waliur Rehman Mehsud, Hakeemullah Mehsud, Mulla Nazir, Abu Yehya Al Libi and Abdur Rehman Al Saudi of Al Qaeda and Sirajuddin Haqqani of the Haqqani network. The second meeting was held on Dec 11 in Dattakhel area ... which is owned and operated by Hafiz Gul Behadur... of North Waziristan. It was attended by Sabiullah Mujahid, Maulvi Sangeen and Maulvi Ashfaq from Afghanistan, Yehya Al Libi and Abdur Rehman Al Saudi of Al Qaeda, Hafiz Gul Bahadar and Maulvi Sadiq Noor from North Waziristan and Hakeemullah Mehsud, Waliur Rehman and Mulla Nazir from South Waziristan. Talking to Dawn on phone from an unspecified place, TTP front man Ihsanullah said the Mujahideen groups had reposed their confidence in the leadership of Mullah Muhammad Omar and recognised him as the leader of Afghanistan. He said the TTP would send its fighters to Afghanistan after March for waging jihad against "US-led infidel forces". The front man denied a media report that the Taliban would not attack Pak security forces. "It was a misleading and incorrect report." He said the meeting had decided that bully boyz would target the Americans and their allies in Pakistain as well as Afghanistan. Ihsanullah said the Taliban would also take Dire Revenge™ of what he called humiliation by security forces of tribal women, men and Mujahideen in the ongoing operation in Khyber agency. It may be recalled that a rift occurred among Taliban groups when Mulla Nazir expelled Uzbek and Masud bully boyz from Wana subdivision after striking a deal with the government during the operation Rahe Nijat. However, those who apply themselves too closely to little things often become incapable of great things... Gul Bahadar and Maulvi Sadiq did not oppose the shifting of Mujahideen from South to North Waziristan. AP adds: "For God's sake, forget all your differences and give us fighters to boost the battle against America in Afghanistan," senior Al Qaeda commander Abu Yehya Al Libi told Pak fighters at the meeting, according to a cut-thoat who attended it. Yes, that will make everyone involved feel confident in the outcome.

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Home Front: Politix

Obama the idealist has taken fright

2011-10-06

[Dawn] CANDIDATES run on hope. Incumbents run on their record. But Barack B.O. Obama, lining up for a second term at the White House next year, has little to offer on either score. The heady optimism of 2008 has dissipated. At home, Obama is primarily associated with hard times: only 34 per cent of voters approve of his handling of the economy, according to a recent poll. Abroad, his presidency has come to stand for impotence and incompetence. He promised new beginnings; what he has delivered, for the most part, is waffle, dither and drift. If this verdict seems harsh, take a quick tour round the globe. Everywhere the pillars of American superpower are crumbling. The old habit of hegemony, formed in the postwar decades and confirmed in 1989 as Soviet power imploded, is fading as fast as a Honolulu sunset. Part of the explanation is faltering industrial and financial clout, reflecting the rapid rise of rivals such as China and India. But that is compounded by another central element: Obama's persistent failure to stand up, in practical, substantive ways, for the values, beliefs and interests he so eloquently espouses. Obama's early, anguished indecision over keeping his promise to close Guantanamo Bay now looks like a grim portent. So, too, does his administration's failure to support the Iranian students whose 'green revolution' was so cruelly suppressed in Tehran in 2009. When the Arab Spring took hold this year, the man who in Cairo had preached the pre-eminence of the democratic ideal took fright. Tunisia did not matter much. But when he faced accusations of becoming the president who 'lost' Egypt, Obama's dither default setting was triggered anew. In the event he achieved the worst of all worlds. Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... , that staunch, unlovely friend of the West, was deposed with Washington's belated blessing -- to the lasting mortification of another key American ally, Soddy Arabia. Now the army-led, supposedly caretaker regime that replaced him appears equally unappealing. Egypt may soon require a second revolution, and next time the Islamists may not act so coy. For its part, Riyadh absorbed the lesson of US unreliability and took matters into its own hands by crushing dissent in Bahrain. In Libya, as elsewhere, Obama talked the good fight from the sidelines. Speaking about Syria in August, he condemned President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators. Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor... 's "imprisoning, torturing and slaughtering" of pro-democracy demonstrators and demanded he step aside immediately. The call came after months of White House debate about the consequences of supporting change in Damascus ...The City of Jasmin is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It has not always been inhabited by the same set of fascisti... . Assad, meanwhile, contemptuously ignores US mouthings, and a fracturing Syria accelerates towards the abyss. Obama's handling of his legacy wars -- Afghanistan and Iraq -- provides little to crow about on the stump. The Afghan troop surge has not brought about the looked-for breakthrough. Instead, casualties are up, while the Taliban, in contrast, have increasingly resorted to targeted terror tactics -- such as last month's liquidation of Burhanuddin Rabbani ... the murdered legitimate president of Afghanistan... , a former Afghan president and head of the High Peace council. Any examination of whether Obama and his diplomats and commanders want a negotiated Afghan peace settlement finds President Dither at his most infuriating. Speaking at the end of Ramazan, Mullah Muhammad Omar, the Taliban leader, clearly signalled interest in pursuing talks to create a new political order acceptable to all Afghans. But Washington seems more intent on threatening Pakistain than ensuring a peaceful transition in Afghanistan after 2014. Much the same may be said of Iraq, where US concerns focus less on the stability of a country it so massively destabilised than on how Iran may exploit the US withdrawal. Obama's foreign policy under-achievement leaves a global trail. He spoke out forcefully in Prague about the necessary inevitability of a nuclear bomb-free world. But his carrots and sticks have had little impact on North Korea's or Iran's ambitions, while the Libyan war delivered a clear message: if Muammar Qadaffy ...Custodian of Wheelus AFB for 42 long years... had not abandoned his nuclear weapons programme in 2003 he might still be in power now.

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