KABUL —Mohammad Omar, the spiritual leader of the Afghan Taliban, died in a hospital in Pakistan more than two years ago, the Afghan president’s office and intelligence agency officials said Wednesday.
The report — long rumored but never publicly acknowledged by high-level officially — pointed to possible shake-ups within the militant group that could complicate recently opened peace talks.
There was no immediate comment from the militant group. In the past, Taliban’s official spokesmen have repeatedly denied rumors of Omar’s death.
Abdul Hassib Seddiqi, spokesman for Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security, said Omar died in a hospital in the Pakistani city of Karachi in April 2013, news reports said.
“We confirm officially that he is dead,” the Associated Press quoted him as saying. Officials gave similar statements to The Washington Post.
The reason was unclear for the long delay in a high-level announcement on Omar’s apparent death. But it came just days before the next scheduled session of peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government seeking to end 14 years of fighting.
Finding a formula for peace has been a priority for Afghanistan’s president, Ashraf Ghani.
But open acknowledgment of Omar’s death could raise new hurdles in the difficult talks. Omar has remained a symbolic figure of unity among the Taliban even as various factions split over whether to seek a cease-fire or press ahead with their insurgency.
Earlier Wednesday, various media in Afghanistan and Pakistan, citing unnamed Afghan officials, reported on the death of Omar — a secretive figure who first took up arms against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, but became known to the world later as the host of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
“He was very sick in a Karachi hospital and died suspiciously there,” Seddiqi said, without providing details, the AP reported.
Omar — who was rarely photographed and avoided major public events — is credited with being the ideological leader of the Taliban as it rose from a band of Islamist insurgents in the 1980s to take control of Afghanistan in the 1990s and provide haven for al-Qaeda.
An undated image believed to be showing Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar. (Handout/EPA)
He became widely recognized for his distinctive look — a missing right eye believed to be lost in combat against the Soviets.
The Taliban was toppled by American forces and others after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but the group has remained as a potent militant force in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan. Recently, Taliban fighters have made gains across northern Afghanistan.
A second round of peace talks was scheduled to begin Friday in the Pakistan resort town of Murree, the Associated Press reported, citing a senior Afghan official.
But Tariq Fatemi, a special Pakistani envoy on foreign affairs, said during a visit to Washington that the timing and location of the next round is not yet confirmed.
In the first gathering, held in Murree earlier this month, the Taliban was represented by senior representatives from its shura, or ruling, council.
“They are recognized as the leaders . . . none have challenged that . . . Many of the old Taliban leaders have died or given up,” he said Tuesday, but had no direct comment on the status of Omar.
Although there has been no official confirmation, several sources in Kabul who have had close dealings with the Taliban note possible hints that Omar could no longer be in control. Recent statements attributed to Omar seemed to soften his hard-line stance against peace talks. It also was distributed without any audio, a Taliban practice in past years.
The rumors of Omar’s death have been intensifying for months, with several wildly contradictory versions circulating. One account put out by an insurgent group calling itself the Fedayeen Mahaz alleges that he was murdered by an associate. Another version is that he died after a long illness, possibly hepatitis.
Omar’s death could complicate the peace bid amid potential succession battles within the Taliban.
The most logical successor is Akthar Mohammed Mansour, his longtime deputy and senior aide. But some Taliban are said to favor Omar’s son Yacub, a recent Muslim seminary graduate in his 20s who has no militia experience.
“Omar’s role has been extraordinarily influential. If these reports are true, the question of a successor will be the first thing that has to be dealt with before negotiations can go on,” said Abdul Hakim Mujahid, a former Taliban diplomat and current member of the Afghan High Peace Council that was set up to promote negotiations.
In Pakistan, a Pakistani security official said the Omar officials were still considered “speculative.”
“The timing of such reports is questionable as talks being held for peace in Afghanistan,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity under briefing rules.
Earlier this month, the Taliban asserted responsibility for a suicide bombing against an NATO convoy in Kabul. Hours later, suspected Taliban gunmen tried to storm an Afghan intelligence office in the Afghan capital.
In June, Taliban fighters launched an attack on the Afghanistan parliament while it was in session, forcing panicked lawmakers to flee.
