Quetta/Kabul: Brother of Taliban leader Akhunzada was killed in an explosion carried out at a mosque in Balochistan’s capital Quetta. Akhunzada’s brother, Hafiz Ahmadullah, was the prayer leader at the Quetta mosque. Earlier, former Afghanistan’s intelligence chief Amrullah Saleh had alleged that Hafiz might have been killed by an extremist group supported by Pakistan’s ISI.

The United States and the Taliban are in discussions for a peace deal over Afghanistan. However, nothing concrete has emerged despite eight rounds of talks between them. Although the United States has claimed that the negotiations were very close to reaching a peace agreement, no progress has been observed beyond it. At the same time, sources have said that the internal disputes in the Taliban over the deal with the United States were predominant.

The attack that occurred on Friday is believed a likely outcome of the internal dispute. Haibatullah Akhunzada took over as the Taliban chief in 2016. After that, he designated his Brother Hafiz Ahmadullah as the prayer leader of the mosque in Quetta. The mosque is believed to be a base for the military organisation known as the Quetta Shura in the Taliban. Thereby, the Taliban members have been revealed to have frequented the mosque.

Along with the death of Akhunzada’s brother, two other close associates were also said to be grievously injured in the blast. The Pakistani police and the Taliban have confirmed the reports supporting the information. Approximately 1,500 people were killed in terror attacks that were orchestrated in various parts of Afghanistan. What’s more, the Taliban is responsible for most of the attacks. Despite the Taliban’s ongoing extensive spate of attacks, the United States is engaged in negotiating with them in Qatar. Furthermore, the United States has asserted that the talks were hugely successful.

Nonetheless, the Afghan government, security agencies and populace are displeased with the Taliban negotiations. The Afghanistan government and the security agencies have lamented that peace and stability in Afghanistan cannot prevail unless the terrorism in Pakistan ended. On the sidelines of the developments, the killing of a close aide of the Taliban chief assumes much significance.

हिंदी मराठी

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