Rumors about Baradar’s assassination untrue

KABUL (Pajhwok): A fake Facebook page attributed to the Afghan army has published a post in which it claimed the Taliban’s deputy leader in political affairs, Abdul GhaniBaradar, has been killed but the group rejected it.

Claim: Taliban’s co-founder, Abdul GhaniBaradarhas been killed.

Verdict: The claim about Abdul GhaniBaradar’s assassination is untrue.

Mullah Abdul GhaniBaradar is co-founder of the Taliban movement and deputy leader of the group in political affairs. After spending three years in a prison in Pakistan, he was released in September 2013.

Baradar also signed the US-Taliban agreement with US envoy, ZalmaiKhalilzad in Doha last year.

A fake Facebook page attributed to 209^thShaheen Military Corps on Friday in a post said, “Mullah Baradar was also sent to the hell, he was killed in an explosion in Karachi.”

This page is liked by 122,000 people and its post about Baradar’s assassination was liked by 2,300 people, drew 249 comments and shared by 156 people until today morning.

The speculation is also circulated in other pages of Facebook as well as Twitter and Whatsapp groups.

Fact checking:

Deputy spokesman of the Ministry of Defense, FawadAman, told Pajhwok Afghan News that the Facebook page attributed to Shaheen Military Corps was fake.

A Taliban spokesman, ZabihullahMujahid also rejected the claim and said that Baradar was fine and currently stayed in Qatar.

Outcome: A fake Facebook page attributed to 209^thShaheen Military Corps claims that Taliban’s co-founder, Mullah Abdul GhaniBaradar has been assassinated in Karachi, but the Ministry of Defense called the page fake and the Taliban said that Baradar was in Qatar and alive.

Verdict: The claim about Abdul GhaniBaradar’s assassination is untrue.

Some media outlets quoting a statement of the Ministry of Defense in September 2007 also reported about the killing of Baradar in an airstrike in Helmand province.

Ahmad Sohaib Hasrat

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