Meet Taliban's new chief - Mullah Akthar Muhammad Mansoor

Islamabad, July 30: Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansoor has been appointed as the new chief or emir of the of the Afghan Taliban.

The decision to appoint the second in command to Mullah Omar was taken by the two councils of the Taliban.

Mullah Omar was confirmed dead by the Afghanistan government. He had died in the year 2013 at a hospital in Karachi.

Who is Mullah Mansoor?

The new chief was the second in command to Mullah Omar. Although he does not have the charisma of Mullah Omar, he is still the Taliban's best choice. The Taliban decided to take a decision on a new leader after the Afghanistan government conformed that Omar had died.

In the absence of Mullah Omar since 2013, it was Mansoor who was leading the Taliban. He was also the person involved in the peace talks with the Afghan government over the past couple of months.

Mullah Mansoor was in fact the former minister for civil aviation and transportation when the Taliban was in power at Afghanistan. He also donned the role of a shadow governor of Khandahar.

He was leading the Shura council of the Taliban at Quetta most of the time. According to the intelligence on him, he has the backing of 90 per cent of the Taliban fighters which made him the best choice for leader.

The Taliban has been struggling without a leader since 2013. They were not ready to confirm the death of Mullah Omar as they feared the Taliban would split up. However the council meetings of the Taliban which lasted for an entire day finally took the decision to name Mullah Mansoor as its chief.

He has a tough job ahead for him. He will ensure that the Taliban fights away the threats being posed by the ISIS headed al-Khorasan and also ensure that the Taliban remains a united force. Indian Intelligence agencies say that Mullah Mansoor has the backing to the ISI and also the Afghan government.

OneIndia News