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Report Says Kandahar Surrendered Without Mullah Omar's Approval
Additional Reporting By IOL Correspondent, Misbah Allah Abdul-Baki
PESHAWAR, Dec. 8 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Sources close to Taliban revealed Saturday that control of the movement's last major stronghold, the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, was given up against the will of the Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar.
Sources said that the move was made after certain leading figures within the movement rebelled against Mullah Omar and forced him to hand over the city quickly without any resistance.
Such figures included the foreign minister of the movement, Wakil Ahmed Mutawakel, the deputy prime minister and the governor of Nangarhar, Mawloy Abd Al Kabeer, defense minister Mullah Obeid Allah, the minister of justice, Mullah Turabi, the minister of interior, Mullah Abdul Razik, the president of the higher court, Mullah Thakeb, and the deputy mayor of Nangarhar, Mullah Sadr.
According to the unidentified sources, the governor of Kandahar, Mullah Hassan Rahmani, and the minister of education, Ameer Khan Mutaqi, were the only Taliban leaders to support to Mullah Omar, who stated that he preferred fighting U.S.-led forces until death.
The Taliban agreed to surrender control of Kandahar and surrender weapons under a deal brokered by Afghanistan's U.N.-backed leader-in-waiting, Hamid Karzai.
The decision to hand over Kandahar came after the mediation of former mujahideen commander Mullah Naqibullah, who promised Mullah Omar protection in return for surrendering the city.
Naqibullah's deal to protect Mullah Omar angered former Kandahar governor, Gul Agha, who said he refused any kind of protection to be given to Taliban forces. Agha and Naqibullah, who was then the city's military strongman, were both forced from power when the Taliban took control in November 1994.
The Taliban went on to conquer most of Afghanistan and controlled more than 90 percent of the country until less than a month ago.
Meanwhile, speculation is intensifying over the whereabouts of Mullah Omar.
U.S. chief of staff Andrew Card declared that U.S. President George W. Bush's administration was "pretty sure" the Taliban leader remained in the city, the BBC's online news service reported.
But Afghanistan's interim leader, Hamid Karzai, was less confident.
"We don't know where Mullah Omar is," he told news agencies. "We are looking for him. He is a fugitive." Karzai has insisted that Mullah Omar will be arrested if found.
"I have given him every chance to denounce terrorism and now the time has run out," he said. "If he is found, he must face trial."
But Washington is still undecided as to what to do with the Taliban leader and his top commanders if they are captured, according to General Tommy Franks, chief of the U.S. Central Command.
"Do we demand to take them ourselves out of Afghanistan or could they perhaps be handled in some other way by the government within Afghanistan?" he said.
Mullah Omar notably condemned the deadly September 11 attacks on the United States, rejecting U.S. claims that Saudi-born dissident Osama bin Laden masterminded the attacks. Omar called on Bush's administration to submit solid proof of bin Laden's involvement.
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