The shuffle overseen by Mullah Hibatullah is meant to tighten his control over the movement\u2019s military and political arms
\nour correspondent
\nISLAMABAD
\nIn one of the most significant shake-ups in years, the Taliban put the son of the movement\u2019s feared founder in charge of its military wing and added powerful figures to its negotiating team ahead of expected talks aimed at ending Afghanistan\u2019s decades of war, Taliban officials say.
\nAs head of a newly united military wing, 30-year-old Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, brings his father\u2019s fiercely uncompromising reputation to the battlefield.
\nEqually significant is the addition of four members of the insurgent group\u2019s leadership council to the 20-member negotiating team, Taliban officials told The Associated Press.
\nThe shuffle overseen by Taliban leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhunzada is meant to tighten his control over the movement\u2019s military and political arms, the officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the inner workings of the movement.
\nAnalysts say the shake-up could be good news for negotiations with Afghanistan\u2019s political leadership in Kabul, and a sign of just how serious the Taliban are taking this second \u2014 and perhaps most critical \u2014 step in a deal Washington signed with the insurgents in February.
\n\u201cI\u2019d say it appears to be a positive development because the Taliban are creating a delegation that seems more senior and more broad-based than they\u2019ve used to date, or than might be strictly necessary for the opening stages of talks,\u201d said Andrew Wilder, vice president of the Asia Program at the Washington-based US Institute of Peace.
\n\u201cIf you want to see the glass as half full this strengthened Taliban delegation could be interpreted as a sign that the group is planning to engage in serious discussions,\u201d he said.
\nWhen the US signed the deal with the Taliban on Feb. 29, after more than a year and a half of negotiations, it was touted as Afghanistan\u2019s best chance at peace in four decades of war. It was also seen as a road map for the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, ending America\u2019s longest war.
\nOn Monday, four-and-a-half months since the signing, chief US negotiator and peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad tweeted that \u201ca key milestone in the implementation of the US-Taliban agreement\u201d had been reached as American troop numbers dropped to 8,600 from about 12,000 and five bases were closed.
\nEven as Khalilzad chastised increased insurgent attacks on Afghan security forces, he said the Taliban had been true to their word not to attack US and NATO troops.
\n\u201cNo American has lost his\/her life in Afghanistan to Taliban violence. Regional relations have improved,\u201d he tweeted.
\nThe Taliban have stepped up their military activity against government forces since Yaqoob\u2019s appointment in May, a sign that the religious militia under Yaqoob\u2019s leadership may see battlefield wins as upping their leverage at the negotiation table.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The shuffle overseen by Mullah Hibatullah is meant to tighten his control over the movement\u2019s military and political arms our correspondent ISLAMABAD In one of the most significant shake-ups in years, the Taliban put the son of the movement\u2019s feared founder in charge of its military wing and added powerful figures to its negotiating team […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":133053,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-133050","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n