Taliban not to enter into peace talks with Kabul: New leader
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Pakistani National Security Advisor Sartaj Aziz (C) chairs the first round of four-way peace talks with Afghanistan, US and Chinese delegates in Islamabad on January 11, 2016. ©AFP
The Afghan Taliban’s newly-appointed leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, has pledged that the militant group will not enter into any peace talks with the government in Kabul.
“No, no we will not come to any type of peace talks,” the man, identified as Akhundzada, said in an audio recording provided by the Taliban’s militant group on Wednesday.
“Taliban will never bow their heads and will not agree to peace talks,” said the new Taliban leader, adding, “People thought we will lay down our arms after Mullah Mansour’s death, but we will continue fighting till the end.”
Taliban appointed Akhundzada as their new leader, officially confirming that their former Chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour was killed in a US drone strike last week.
Sirajuddin Haqqani, the head of a network responsible for a series of powerful bomb attacks across Kabul in recent years, and Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the son of founder Mullah Mohammad Omar, were also named deputies.
On May 21, the US Department of Defense announced in a statement that it had killed Mansour in a drone strike “in a remote area of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region.” The Pentagon also announced that the operation had been authorized by President Barack Obama.
The remarks by new Taliban leader come as there have been growing differences among Taliban elements over peace talks with the Afghan government, with some vowing to fight for power instead of taking part in negotiations.
ME
