Taliban’s New Leader Pledges to Continue the Fight

The new leader of the Afghan Taliban has issued his first audio statement, calling for unity and promising to continue the fight to take power in Afghanistan.

In the 33-minute message released last Saturday, Mullah Akhtar Mansoor vowed to follow Mullah Omar’s footsteps, and his message cast more doubt on the future of the peace negotiations with the government.

“We should not concentrate on peace talks or anything related to that. We should focus on implementing the Islamic system,” he said. “Our goal and slogan is to implement sharia and an Islamic system, and our jihad will continue until this is done.

“Mullah Omar has passed away but our religion still exists among us. The blood of our ‘Mujahideens’ should not go to waste,” he continued, referring to the Taliban fighters. “We should fight united until we win.”

The Afghan Government in Kabul held talks last month with the Taliban in an attempt to work towards a peace process for the war-ravaged nation. The second round of talks that had been scheduled to be held in Pakistan today were postponed following the announcement of Omar’s death.

• Pray for Afghanistan, as it stands at a crossroads between peace and continued war.
• Pray for Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, the new Taliban leader. Pray that he will encounter the risen Christ and come to know the truth of the Gospel and God’s grace.
• Pray for the Afghan government as it seeks to find a way to peace with the Taliban. Pray for wisdom, courage and for both sides to genuinely seek peace.
• Pray for many in this war ravages nation to come find healing and  hope through the Gospel and Love of Jesus.

Psalm 46 vs 10: “He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’”

Source: http://www.aljazeera.com/topics/country/afghanistan.html