The Taliban supreme leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor’s relations had deteriorated with Pakistan since he assumed the charge of Taliban leadership, succeeding the group’s founder Mullah Mohammad Omar.
According to the diplomatic sources quoted in a report by a local newspaper in Pakistan, Mullah Mansoor’s death would not cause any major concerns in Pakistan’s power circles.
The sources claimed that Mullah Mansour had some ties with the Pakistanis in the past but relations became strained after he became leader of the Afghan Taliban, Dawn newspaper reported.
According to the report, Pakistan made several attempts in the recent past to persuade him to join the reconciliation talks but he refused.
Meanwhile, diplomatic observers said that Mullah Mansour’s death would further fragment the Taliban movement, which split into several factions after Mullah Omar’s death.
“His death will have both negative and positive consequences,” said one diplomatic source. “Sometimes, it is easier to deal with a unified leadership and sometimes a weakened leadership is better. We have to wait and see how this unfolds.”
Mullah Mansoor has likely been killed in a drone strike carried out by the US forces, targeting his vehicle in southwest of the town of Ahmad Wal.
The appointment of Mullah Mansoor as the new Supreme Leader of Taliban led to widening rift among the Taliban ranks which resulted into deadly clashes on numerous occassions among his supporters and the dissident Taliban leaders.
Mansoor was however supported by the notorious Haqqani terrorist network which is also believed to be based in Pakistan as the network’s leader was appointed as the deputy chief of the Taliban group.
