Taliban praise dead Pakistani political leader

The Taliban have praised Maulana Abdul Ghani, a senior leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) political party, who was killed in a car crash yesterday. From the BBC:

But a Taliban spokesman told the BBC in a statement that Maulana Ghani – a deputy leader of the JUI-F – was a “martyr for the cause of jihad” – and it would be difficult to replace him.

The former parliamentarian was laid to rest on Wednesday in his native town of Chaman in Balochistan.

Eyewitnesses told the BBC the Taliban’s top leadership was in attendance – along with hundreds of local citizens and Taliban foot soldiers.

Later – without giving details – a Taliban spokesman said that Maulana Ghani had shown what he called great courage in supporting the movement after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

He added that the maulana’s services and commitment for the cause of jihad would never be forgotten.

The JUI-F has long been an overt supporter of the Taliban. Here is a little background on the JUI-F:

…Fazl ur-Rehman, is the head of the JUI-F [note, the party is named after Fazl ur-Rehman]. That nasty Islamist political party runs hundreds of mosques in Pakistan which crank out Taliban cannon fodder. In fact, Fazl is widely credited with creating the Afghan Taliban by training many of its members in madrassas in Baluchistan province and northwestern Pakistan. Fazl led the opposition in parliament from 2004-2007. Despite his overt support for the Taliban, which continues to this day, he remains a free man in Pakistan.

JUI-F also sponsored the ‘Martyred Mullah Dadullah Conference’ after the Afghan Taliban commander was killed by British special forces in Afghanistan in May 2007. Dadullah was the Afghan Taliban’s overall military commander. Ghani was among the JUI-F leaders present at the conference, which hosted more than 10,000 people.

“The party’s main leaders like former [National Assembly] member Maulana Abdul Ghani, sitting MNA [Member of National Assembly] Maulana Noor Muhammad and former Senator Hafiz Fazal Muhammad Bareech participated. Banners were also displayed on the venue inscribed with slogans eulogizing Mullah Dadullah’s services and Taliban movement and against the Americans. The charged audience kept raising slogans of ‘Long live Mullah Omar, Long Live Osama bin Laden and Taliban movement.'”

“The blood of my brother will never go waste. We will never forget his sacrifices, and the role of other martyrs,” Dadullah Mansoor [Mullah Dadullah’s brother, who was also a senior Taliban leader] addressed the crowd via a tape recording. “We will complete Dadullah’s mission by expelling Americans and liberating Afghanistan.”

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

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7 Comments

  • Neonmeat says:

    If it wasn’t such a serious situation this would be comedy.

  • Paul says:

    It seems to be the Taliban is a Pakistani creation supported more in Pakistan than Afghanistan!
    Please note Obama the enemy is in Pakistan not Afghanistan!

  • wallbangr says:

    I know it never would have happened because of sensitivities and the delicate situation with our nominal ally (to say nothing of openly targeting a political leader), but a pred strike should have had an invite to this little shindig. One can wish…

  • Charles says:

    So can someone arrange a car crash for Fazl ur-Rehman as well. The ISI should have that kind of expertise.

  • Paul D says:

    The Main problem Obama is Pakistan not Afghanistan as shown in this article!
    Saudi,Iran and Pakistan are no friends of the West!

  • mike merlo says:

    was it alcohol related?

  • Shahand says:

    indeed madrassa in Balochistan are the taliban mentors and its sponsor islamist terrorist political parties supported by saudi terrorists and isi , v need the usa to liberate Balochs and Pashtoons and destroy taliban havens in Balochistan .

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