Two days after the Afghanistan Government confirmed the death of Taliban leader Mullah Omar in Pakistan in April 2013, the US intelligence community has made the assessment that the one-eyed extremist leader is indeed dead.
After years of futile US pursuit to hunt him down, the White House said in a statement on Friday night that Omar’s demise “represents a chance for yet more progress on the path to a stable, secure Afghanistan”.
While referring to the US intelligence assessment, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, however, noted that the exact circumstances of Omar’s death remained unclear.
Observing that the Taliban chief’s death had come after decades of war in which thousands of lives were lost and on the heels of key milestones such as last year’s Afghan elections and President Obama ending the US combat mission, Earnest noted that Afghanistan still remains a dangerous place.
“At this time of transition, the Taliban can choose to continue to fight their own people and destabilise their own country, or they can choose peace,” Earnest said, adding: “We encourage the Taliban to heed President Ghani’s call for reconciliation and make genuine peace with the Afghan Government.”
“We and our international partners will continue to support President Ghani, the National Unity Government, and an Afghan-led reconciliation process as we work together to improve Afghanistan’s security, continue to target terrorists, and preserve the gains we have made together over the last 13 years,” the statement added.
Pakistan’s periodic denials notwithstanding, US intelligence officials have all along suspected Pakistan of sheltering Omar.
Citing diplomatic and intelligence documents, The Washington Post reported that the CIA had a lead on the reclusive Omar’s whereabouts several times in 2010 and 2011, always placing him in Pakistan. Yet there was no concerted push to find him.
The Taliban chief’s apparent ability to get medical treatment in Karachi has only “bolstered long-standing suspicions that Omar was being sheltered by Pakistan”, the Post reported.