Kabul: The Taliban have revealed Mullah Omar's final resting place after several years of keeping his death and burial a secret.
After the US-led invasion in 2001 that ousted the Taliban from power, there were many rumors about Omar's condition and whereabouts; The Taliban did not acknowledge his death until April 2015, two years later.
According to Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Sunday, senior leaders of the movement attended a ceremony at his grave earlier in the day near Omarzo in the Suri district of Zabul province.
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In August last year, the Taliban once again seized control, defeating government forces and US-led forces that backed the regime, ending a 20-year occupation.
According to the Mujahid, the tomb was kept secret to avoid damage as there were many enemies nearby and the country was under occupation.
Only immediate family members knew about the location, he continued.
Taliban leaders can be seen gathering around a white brick mausoleum that was covered with gravel and enclosed in a green metal cage in photos released by the authorities. According to the Mujahid, the decision has been taken, so there is no longer any barrier for people to visit the tomb.
Omar started the Taliban in 1993 as a response to the internal civil war that broke out after a decade-long Soviet occupation. He was about 55 years old when he died.
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Under his direction, the Taliban enforced a very strict form of Islamic law that forbade women from participating in public life and established severe public punishments such as public hanging and beheading.
Omar's ceremony comes a day after local Taliban officials denied rumors that the tomb of resistance hero Ahmed Shah Masood had been vandalized in the Panjshir Valley. The Mujahid warned that if the report was true, the act would be "punished".
Masood's legacy in the nation is unclear; While he was admired by ordinary Afghans for leading the fight against the Soviet occupation, the Taliban, which he fought until his assassination by al-Qaeda in 2001, hated him.
Ever since the Taliban took over the country in August last year, his mausoleum by Taliban fighters has been preserved in a grand granite and marble mausoleum overlooking the beautiful Panjshir Valley.
Locals claimed that a group of fighters who had just arrived broke the mausoleum; A video of the unholy grail, which could not be independently verified, was published by local media and quickly went viral on social media.
This happened as soon as the new army reached Panjshir. According to a local, the tomb of the national hero was destroyed by the new army from Helmand and Kandahar.
Panjshir province's head of information and culture, Nasrullah Malqzada, denied that the tomb had been damaged and released a video showing this.
But it was clear from the clip that the entire building was not shown, especially the section that was damaged in the original video. The journalist's request to visit the tomb or take photographs was refused by Malakzada.
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According to Mujahid, no one has the right to condemn the deceased. He said, "In the past, we used to punish those who do such acts. This will also be investigated and necessary action will be taken.