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Taliban wants to set up Islamic State in Afghanistan

New York: Refusing any peace talk with America, a top-ranking Taliban commander has said his group has waged war against the U.S.-led forces to create an Islamic State in Afghanistan and to bring Sharia back to the country, said a media report on Monday.

“There is nothing to talk about. This is not a political campaign for policy change or power sharing or Cabinet Ministries. We are waging jihad to bring Islamic law back to Afghanistan,” Mullah Sabir told Newsweek. The magazine said it conducted the interview at a textile shop on Afghanistan-Pakistan border and identified Sabir as one of the highest ranking commanders but said he did not want his full name to be used.

The refusal to negotiate comes straight from the Taliban’s supreme leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, Sabir was quoted as saying. “The tone of his rejection has been so strong from the first that no one would dare to raise the subject with him.”

But Newsweek says Sabir hasn’t seen Mullah Omar in years, and he doesn’t know of anyone who has.

Internet posts released in Mullah Omar’s name are the only hint that the one-eyed leader is still alive.

All the same, Sabir says he and thousands of other Taliban won’t stop fighting until they’re back in power.

Distrust is spreading in the ranks and Taliban fighters wonder aloud what has become of Mullah Omar. Some think he may have been put under house arrest.

“He may have removed himself, or someone may have removed him,” says a former Mullah Omar aide. “For the past two years, no one that I know has any hard evidence of where he is or what he’s doing.” — PTI

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