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Mulla Omar’s brother, son refuse to compete for job of Taliban chief
Mansour consolidates his position, though his worries not yet over
Rahimullah Yusufzai
Thursday, September 10, 2015
PESHAWAR: The refusal of the brother and son of the late Taliban supreme leader Mulla Muhammad Omar to compete with the new Taliban chief Mulla Akhtar Muhammad Mansour for his job has put the latter in an unassailable position.
Taliban sources said Mulla Omar’s brother Mulla Abdul Mannan and son Mulla Muhammad Yaqoob were seen as the two strongest challengers to Mansour. The anti-Mansour camp had been trying to persuade them to take on Mansour as they were considered capable of toppling him. However, the uncle-nephew duo declined the offer as they didn’t want to be blamed for causing a split in the 21-year-old Taliban movement founded by Mulla Omar. Rather, they have been claiming that their priority was to follow in Mulla Omar’s footsteps by working to preserve the unity of the Taliban movement and avoid a split in its ranks.
Mannan, who is Mulla Omar’s sole surviving brother and is in his mid-30s, had expressed interest earlier in challenging Mansour, but a few days ago he reportedly conveyed his unwillingness to challenge him for the job. Those opposed to Mansour were banking on Mannan after the 23-year-old Yaqoob, Mulla Omar’s eldest son, had turned down their request to become their candidate for the office of the new Taliban movement head.
According to Taliban insiders, Yaqoob was the opposition camp’s first choice to challenge Mansour as he knew that the Taliban rank and file had immense love and respect for Mulla Omar and, by extension, with his family members. The opposition stalwarts were aware that only someone from Mulla Omar’s family could draw enough support from Taliban members to compete with Mansour. However, Yaqoob’s refusal to vie with Mansour for the job frustrated the opposition’s plans and forced it to turn to Mannan. Now that Mannan too has opted to quit the race for the office of Taliban head, which is arguably one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, there is no other strong candidate to challenge Mansour.
Mansour’s growing strength vis-a-vis his rivals also became possible due to the tactics employed by his men to mobilise his supporters and draw support away from the opposition.
Some of the clerics who had joined the anti-Mansour camp were won over and others gradually became neutral in the dispute over the issue of succession. Mulla Dastagir and Mulla Nazar Muhammad, two vocal clerics hitherto questioning Mansour’s appointment as the successor to Mulla Omar, have now accepted his leadership and pledged allegiance to him. Mulla Ahmad Rabbani, younger brother of late Mulla Muhammad Rabbani, who served as head of the Taliban cabinet until his death from cancer in 2001, was earlier opposed to Mansour’s elevation to the post of new Taliban leader, but is now keen to mediate between him and his opponents. In fact, Mulla Ahmad Rabbani and many other clerics now want Mansour to remain the Taliban head after bringing changes in the Rahbari Shura (leadership council) and other decision-making organs of the Taliban movement.
However, the diminishing strength of the opposition to Mansour doesn’t mean that the succession issue has been resolved.
The Rahbari Shura members Mulla Muhammad Hasan Rahmani, Mulla Abdul Razzaq and Mulla Muhammad Rasool continue to oppose Mansour. Another Rahbari Shura member Mulla Abdul Qayyum Zakir, who remained imprisoned for a number of years in the US detention cell in the Guantanamo Bay and later served as the head of the Taliban military commission, is also part of the opposition after showing some hesitation earlier. Some clerics such as Mulla Hamdullah Jan are fiercely opposed to Mansour and have made it clear that someone else should be made the Taliban Ameer in his place.
More importantly, Mulla Omar’s brother, Mannan, and son, Yaqoob, have yet to pledge allegiance to Mansour even after refusing to become a candidate for seeking his job. Many clerics and Taliban members too have reservations over the method and the haste with which Mansour was chosen as the new Taliban head.
Another headache for Mansour is his namesake, Mansoor Dadullah, the brother of the late Taliban commander Mulla Dadullah Akhund who has made a number of accusations against him and declared him unfit to succeed Mulla Omar and lead the Taliban. Though Mansoor Dadullah was expelled from the Taliban movement some years ago, he has continued to comment on Taliban politics as the head of a splinter faction.
He also has close links to non-Afghan militants such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) and was able to draw this group away from the Afghan Taliban movement.
Mansoor Dadullah is also critical of Pakistan as he was held in custody for some years and has lately been claiming that Mansour was a puppet of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Mansour has to be wary of Mansoor Dadullah as he could create problems for him through his constant accusations against him.
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