“We believe now it would not be possible to totally dismantle the Afghan Taliban,” said one Western diplomat. “Thus the only possible solution for the Afghan conflict is peace and reconciliation,” and for that, “united Taliban are better than Taliban divided in groups.”
The diplomat said that if the Taliban continue to splinter, members will be vulnerable to international terrorist groups, notably ISIS and al Qaeda. “For survival these group would not mind getting support from any terrorist group,” he said. “That would not be an ideal scenario.”
In fact there may soon be three contending groups. Another senior Afghan Taliban leader today told The Daily Beast on Tuesday three important figures—ex-military chief Abdul Qayum Zakir , ex-Interior Minister Mullah Abdul Razak, and Hasan Rahmani, who was very close to Mullah Omar—have not pledged support to Mansoor or Rasool.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member