Fresh claim: Son says Mullah Omar died of natural causes

Mullah Yaqoob claims Taliban supremo neither martyred nor killed by anyone

ISLAMABAD: Afghan Taliban supremo Mullah Omar died of natural causes, clarified his son Mullah Yaqoob on Sunday amid claims by dissident Taliban commanders that he was killed.

“The enemy is spreading different rumours about the death of Amirul Momineen [commander of faithful] to create rifts within the ranks of the mujahideen. I want to assure all of you that he had died a natural death,” he said in an audio message emailed to The Express Tribune.

“He [Mullah Omar] has neither been martyred by anyone in the Islamic Emirate nor by the enemy. I considered it necessary to share this information with you,” he added.



Yaqoob confirmed that his father was sick and was critical shortly before he passed away. He went on to say: “We have information regarding my father’s treatment as he suffered from some disease. As my father is no more in the world and we have already suffered through the shock of his death, I want to assure you that no one has any involvement in his death.”

Mansoor Dadullah, a senior Taliban commander and one of the opponents of new Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, had alleged that Mullah Omar was killed and did not die a natural death.

Further, Mullah Najibullah, who is known as Omar Khatab and leads a splinter Taliban group Fidayee Mahaz also claimed that the Afghan Taliban supremo was “poisoned” in 2013.

The Taliban insisted that Omar died in April 2013 owing to an illness. However, dissidents are demanding investigation into Omar’s death and are also asking for the location of his grave.

A former Taliban minister had earlier told The Express Tribune that Mulla Omar had been buried in Afghanistan near Pakistan’s border.

As rivals continue to mount pressure on Akhtar Mansoor, remarks by Yaqoob could be a sigh of relief for the Taliban leadership.

Afghan Taliban have also released an audio of Mullah Omar in which he had condemned Mullah Dadullah Akhund for killing several Taliban commanders over espionage charges.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 14^th,  2015.