Ghani
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
December 8, 2015
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said there is no evidence that Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour is dead.
As he headed for a regional conference in Islamabad December 8 that has raised hopes for a revival of peace talks with the Taliban, Ghani sought to stifle rampant speculation about Mansour’s fate.
A Taliban audio message over the weekend purported to show that Mansour was alive and well, but some insurgents questioned its authenticity. And Ghani’s own spokesman had tweeted on December 4 that Mansour was dead.
“There is no evidence that Mullah Mansour has been killed,” Ghani told a press conference December 7.
Mansour was reported critically wounded in a gunfight at a Taliban gathering near Quetta in Pakistan last week.
Mansour was declared Taliban leader in July, but splits immediately emerged in the group, with some Taliban leaders refusing to pledge their loyalty to the new leader.
A breakaway faction of the Taliban led by Mullah Mohamed Rasool was formed last month, in the first formal division in the once-unified group.
Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters