Mullah Omar wants to save lives, but the Taliban can’t figure how

On the eve of the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha late last week, Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar called on his fighters to avoid killing civilians, saying they should “protect the lives and wealth of ordinary people”.

Though not the first time he has mentioned civilian deaths, it was the strongest message to date from Omar on the subject. On the ground, actions speak far louder. Two days later, soon after Eid prayers had finished, a suicide bomber killed seven Afghan civilians outside a mosque in north Afgh- anistan. Though nobody expected Omar’s message to herald an instant change of tactics, the contrast between word and deed was stark.

“This is the ugly reality of the Taliban,” said US embassy spokesperson Gavin Sundwall. “They say one thing and do another. It’s an obvious contradiction. From the top down, the Taliban is waging a murderous campaign that deliberately targets civilians ... The facts speak for themselves.”