Taliban Chief May Be In Pak Army Custody: Sources Cite Foreign Intel
The Indian authorities has been analyzing facts shared via way of means of overseas intelligence groups and tracking chatter from in the organization's ranks to find the secretive Akhundzada.
A senior authorities legitimate has now indicated that he can be withinside the custody of the Pakistan Army, and that he has now no longer been visible via way of means of the Taliban's senior leaders and warring parties withinside the beyond six months. His final public announcement got here in May - to mark Eid al-Fitr, a vacation signalling the cease of Ramzan. According to the legitimate India is likewise very interested by how Pakistan will manage this issue.
Haibatullah Akhundzada changed into appointed because the Taliban leader in May 2016, after former chief Akhtar Mansour changed into killed in a US drone strike. One of Mansour's deputies, he changed into promoted at a assembly in Pakistan, in step with a video announcement shared via way of means of the organization on the time. A document via way of means of information corporation AFP defined Akhundzada, 50, as a felony student in place of a soldier, and credited him with issuing a number of the organization's greater intense interpretations of Islam.
He has additionally been defined because the "Emir al Mumimeen", or "the commander of the faithful" - an epithet passed via way of means of Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who pledged his allegiance in 2016. Akhundzada is one in all seven Taliban leaders broadly predicted to both lead or be influential withinside the going for walks of Afghanistan after the organization took powerful manipulate of the united states on Sunday.
Reports have additionally reached Delhi that participants of terror corporations - consisting of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammed - have started mingling with the Taliban. Yesterday Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, for the primary time because the Taliban captured took manipulate of Afghanistan, mentioned India's worries approximately terrorism at a assembly of the UN Security Council.
"Whether in Afghanistan or in opposition to India, corporations like Lashkar and Jaish retain to function with impunity and encouragement..." he stated, accusing unnamed countries - broadly visible as a connection with Pakistan - of extending "kingdom hospitality" to 'people with blood on their hands". However, whilst requested how India perspectives and plans to cope with the Taliban leadership, Mr Jaishankar did now no longer provide an immediate remark and might most effective say that it's miles still "early days".
Earlier this week reassets stated messages from the Taliban's political workplace in Qatar had advised the Indian authorities to rethink evacuating its diplomats. The messages - visible as an outreach of sorts - stated India want worry no assaults on its embassy or workforce from corporations just like the Lashkar or Jaish.
The authorities, however, selected to set apart those messages and pull embassy workforce out of Afghanistan anyway, because it had obtained enter of feasible assaults via way of means of those corporations.
India has evacuated all diplomatic workforce however over 1,000 of its residents stay in numerous Afghan cities, and ascertaining their region and situation is proving to be a challenge, a Home Ministry legitimate stated, because now no longer they all had registered themselves with the embassy.
The Indian embassy (in Kabul) is non-functional (because workforce had been evacuated) and is being run via way of means of locals... so we're looking to streamline troubles which can be being flagged via way of means of them, the legitimate stated.