Afghan Taliban, family officially confirm Mullah Omar's death

Mullah Akhtar Mansoor appointed new Afghan Taliban leader

Afghan Taliban officially confirmed on Thursday Mullah Omar's death, hours after the group elected Mullah Akhtar Mansoor as the new Afghan Taliban supreme leader.

Mullah Omar’s family and the Taliban leadership council in a statement confirmed that Mullah Omar passed away in a peaceful manner.

A statement released by the Afghan Taliban said, “Mullah Omar never visited Pakistan or any other country except Afghanistan.”

“Mullah Omar led his movement from Afghanistan,” it added.

Further, the statement said, “Mullah Omar died owing to an illness some time ago and he died within two weeks of contracting the disease.” However, the statement did not disclose the location of his death. Earlier, Afghan intelligence had said the Afghan supremo had died in a hospital in Karachi.

Further, the statement did not mention the appointment of a new leader.

Earlier today, the powerful Taliban leadership council elected o Mullah Akhtar Mansoor as the new Afghan Taliban supreme leader, a senior Taliban leader told The Express Tribune.

“The council also elected Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is known as Khalifa, the chief of Haqqani as deputy of the Taliban’s leader,” the Taliban leader told on the condition of anonymity.

Read: White House calls reports of Mullah Omar's death 'credible'

The Taliban have not yet officially announced the new leader. However, the Taliban leader said the formal announcement is likely to be made shortly.

The incumbent Taliban supreme leader Akhtar Mansoor had served as the Aviation minister during Taliban regime.

Mullah Mansoor was the likely successor along with Mullah Baradar Akhund of the deceased Taliban supreme leader. Earlier, it was speculated in the Taliban circle that Mansoor’s position had been widely damaged for spreading news of Mullah Omar’s death.

Read: Govt remains tightlipped, as lawmakers demand answers on Mullah Omar's 'death'

The appointment comes a day after reports confirmed the Afghan Taliban supreme leader had died over two years ago owing to an illness in a Karachi hospital.

The Taliban remained tight-lipped regarding news of his death; however, the announcement comes after senior Taliban leaders arrived in Islamabad for second round of Pakistan-brokered peace talks between the group and the government in Kabul.

It was widely speculated that Mullah Baradar Akhund would succeed Mullah Omar as the supreme leader of the Afghan Taliban. Mullah Omar had appointed Mullah Baradar and Mullah Ubaidullah Akhund as deputy leaders while he was alive.

Read: Mullah Omar: Taliban's mysterious one-eyed supremo

Mullah Ubaidullah died in a jail in Pakistan, according to the Taliban which left Mullah Baradar next in line.