Kabul: A senior Afghan government official says that the CIA and the NDS knew  that Mullah Omar was dead but the Taliban themselves broke the news on Wednesday because of a dispute over who would have the final say with regards to peace talks. The news of the Taliban leader's death came only two days before the second round of peace talks were scheduled to take place in Pakistan.

According to the government source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Mullah Omar's death had not been a secret. He said both Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security (NDS) and the United State's CIA knew about the Taliban leader's death but that they had not had any proof to support the claims.

On the issue of peace talks, the source said that Taliban political leaders are in support of the initiative but that militia commanders are opposed to the move. He said that Taliban commanders who have been fighting for money are the ones opposed to peace.

According to him, the peace process strategy so far has been successful as it has led to a situation whereby Pakistan cannot distance itself from the Taliban - especially as the group has now become quite fragmented.

In conclusion, he said that if peace talks fail, Pakistan will have to respond to an eight-point letter sent to them by President Ashraf Ghani which, among other things, points out that Pakistan called Afghanistan's enemy an enemy of its own along with its assurance that it would stop offering Afghanistan's enemies a safe haven.

Meanwhile, a number of former Taliban members and religious leaders gathered on Saturday to mourn the death of Mullah Omar.

Details surrounding his death however remain sketchy but one of his son's claims he was murdered.

"His son claims he was murdered, but some others say he died at a hospital," Afghan High Peace Council (HPC) member Qazi Habibullah Fawzi said.