Mullah Omar endorses peace talks with Afghan government
Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar has endorsed the peace talks between the militant group and the Afghan government as “legitimate.”
“If we look into our religious regulations, we can find that meetings and even peaceful interactions with the enemies is not prohibited,” the reclusive leader, known simply as Mullah Omar, said on Wednesday.
Representatives from the Afghan government and the Taliban held their first official negotiations in the Pakistani town of Murree, north of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on July 7.
The two sides agreed to continue the peace talks – which are aimed at terminating Taliban’s 13-year militancy – after the holy month of Ramadan, which most probably ends on July 17.
The message by Mullah Omar comes as some Taliban commanders have openly questioned the legitimacy of the group’s negotiators in Murree, indicating a split within the militants.
In his statement, however, Mullah Omar tried to dismiss any notion of a divide.
All Taliban members “should be confident that in this process, I will unwaveringly defend our legal rights and viewpoint everywhere,” he stressed.
The Afghan government and the Taliban had earlier held talks in Qatar and Norway. The efforts, however, turned out to be fruitless.
Afghanistan has been the scene of violence since 2001, when the US and its allies invaded the country as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but insecurity continues in the war-torn country despite the presence of thousands of US-led troops.
As the head of the Taliban regime, Mullah Omar was Afghanistan’s de facto head of state from 1996 to 2001 and went into hiding following the US-led invasion of the country.
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