Mullah Haibatullah has been designated
as new Taliban supreme leader after the reportedly killing of Mullah Akhtar
Mansour, the Afghan media reported while citing a nameless source close to the combative
movement.
Mansour was reportedly
killed during a shootout between Taliban leaders during a meeting near Quetta
city last week. But the militia has rejected the claim as invented. The
firefight that took place in Kachlak has been confirmed by Afghan official
Sultan Faizi. A former governor and Taliban official Mullah Abdullah Sarhadi
and five others were also killed in the gunfire exchange.
Requesting not to be named,
the ‘source’ said that Haibatullah had been chosen as Mansour’s successor at an
emergency meeting attended by senior militant leaders. It said that the Taliban
had informed all shadow governors, district chiefs and ‘commanders’ that
Mansour would take up to eight months to recovery from his injuries, and that
Haibatullah would serve as acting leader of the militia.
Mansour’s death is being kept
under wraps, as its confirmation could undermine the movement’s morale,
according to the Afghan media, who believed the Taliban were unlikely to make a
public announcement in this regard. On the other hand, Taliban spokesman
Zabihullah Mujahid denied Haibatullah’s appointment as the movement’s acting
head.
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