In this image released by the FBI, Mullah Omar is seen in a wanted poster. The reclusive Afghan Taliban leader has backed peace talks with the Kabul government, saying in a rare message distributed to media Wednesday, July 15, 2015 that the goal of these efforts is an “end to occupation” by foreign forces. KABUL, Afghanistan – The reclusive Afghan Taliban leader has backed peace talks with the Kabul government, saying in a rare message distributed to media Wednesday that the goal of these efforts is an “end to occupation” by foreign forces.
Mullah Mohammad Omar’s message was released ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. In the statement, he also urged Muslim leaders of the world to unite and pledged to continue holy war, or jihad, until foreign troops leave Afghanistan.
He made no specific mention of the first face-to-face Kabul-Taliban talks that were hosted by Pakistan earlier this month. The talks, supervised by U.S. and Chinese representatives, were said to have made progress, with the two sides agreeing to work on confidence-building measures and hold more such meetings after Ramadan. The talks came after several informal contacts between the Taliban and Afghan government representatives, most recently in Qatar and Norway.
But during and immediately after the July 7 meeting near Islamabad, it was not clear whether the Taliban representatives who attended had the green light from Mullah Omar or the insurgents’ political office in Qatar, which was specifically set up to work toward a peace deal. Also, there have been differences among the Taliban over the talks in the past.
Wednesday’s message appeared to be Mullah Omar’s endorsement.