Mullah Abdul Manan Niazi, leader of a breakaway faction of the Afghan Taliban, died of serious injuries days after he came under attack in western Herat province, one of his family members and Afghan media said on Saturday.
A family member said Niazi who has served as the Taliban governor of Kabul, died at a Kabul’s hospital, according to the BBC Pashto website.
Niazi was the last known leader of the dissident Taliban group as other leaders either have been killed or rejoined the main Taliban faction under Sheikh Haibatullah.
Afghan officials say the dissident Taliban leader was injured in an attack in Herat on Tuesday and was shifted to Kabul for treatment. No group claimed responsibility for the attack but he had been involved in clashes with the Taliban in the past. The Taliban had accused Niazi of working for the Afghan intelligence agencies.
He was the Chief of Shura Islami Aali Taliban, which was formed by another Taliban rebel leader Mullah Mohammad Rasool in 2015 when a group of Taliban leaders refused to accept Mullah Akhtar Mansour as the new Taliban chief. Mansour was elected as the new Taliban chief after the death of Mullah Omar was confirmed by the Taliban.
Pakistani authorities arrested Rasool in March 2016 after he fled infighting in southern Afghanistan and entered Pakistan. Dozens of Taliban insurgents, including the breakaway faction’s deputy chief Mullah Mansoor Dadullah and his brother, were killed when Mullah Mansoor’s loyalists launched a major offensive against dissidents in Zabul province. Some, including Mullah Rasool and his second deputy Abdul Manan Niazi, managed to escape.
Herat governor Waheed Qatali had earlier said that three fighters of Niazi were also killed in the attack.
Former spokesman of the Afghan National Security Council Javid Faisal paid homage to Niazi and prayed for him in a tweet.
Taliban also confirmed Niazi’s death and informed their own people in a message “Abdul Manan Niazi, commander of the Arg’s (presidential palace) police has died.”
Who was Niazi?
Niazi, belonging to Adraskan district in Herat, had initially served as spokesman for Mullah Omar in early days of the Taliban, according to a Taliban leader. He had served as police chief in eastern Nangarhar province, bordering Pakistan, during the Taliban rule. Later he was appointed as Kabul governor, but was removed as Kabul governor over corruption charges, the Taliban leader told Daily Times.
He was then moved to the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif and was the main character behind the deadly attack on the Iranian consulate without the Taliban in August 1998 without consent of the Taliban leadership and killed 11 Iranian diplomats and a journalist.
Taliban were very upset at the attack and the Taliban leaders had condemned Niazi for the act. The Taliban did not give him any position, the Taliban leader said. Taliban leadership then never gave him any position and after Mullah Omar’s death he and some of his friends formed a splinter group.
Intra-Afghan negotiations
In another development the Taliban and the Afghan government’s negotiation team have resumed talks in Qatar after a long stalemate and decided to accelerate the process, both sides said on Saturday.
“Some members of the two teams of the intra-Afghan negotiations had a meeting which was also attended by the Deputy-Amir for Political Affairs, IEA (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan) and Head of the Political Office, Mullah Bradar Akhund. Besides Eid greetings, the two sides discussed the status quo and the speeding up of the intra-Afghan negotiations. They emphasized to continue negotiations after Eid,” Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen tweeted.
Intra-Afghan started on Sept. 12 but both sides have failed to make progress over the past 8 months at a time when there has been a spike in fighting.
The Taliban and the government had declared a three-day Eid truce and the Taliban say there is no decision to extend it.
Afghan leaders and common Afghans have called for extension in the ceasefire as only Afghans are now killed in fighting.
Taliban this week overran a key district in Maidan-e-Wardak province at the edge of capital Kabul in their quest for taking control of more areas after fighting with the government’s forces. Afghan interior ministry’s spokesman Tariq Arian said security forces had a tactical withdrawal from Narkh district.
Earlier the Taliban had claimed capturing a district in northeastern Baghlan province and a dam in southern Kandahar.
Niazi, third from the right, sits with his supporters at an unknown location.