Mullah Mohammad Omar's grave unveiled after nine years of his death

New Delhi: The grave of Mullah Mohammad Omar Mujahid, the founder of the Islamic Emirate, was on Sunday revealed to the public during a ceremony in the Suri district of southern Zabul province.

The Taliban’s supreme leader died in 2013 due to an illness in Zabul. More than six months ago, a meeting was held in Kabul to mark the 9th death anniversary of Mullah Omar.

The Taliban revealed the tomb structure, the final resting place of Mullah Mohammad Omar, the leader and founder of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Several Afghan leaders attended a ceremony at the resting place of Mullah Mohammad Omar after several years of keeping his death and burial a secret.

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.

According to the Mujahid, the tomb was kept secret to avoid damage as many enemies were nearby and the country was under occupation. Only immediate family members knew about the location, he continued.

A picture issued by officials shows several Taliban leaders gathering around a white brick mausoleum that was covered with gravel and enclosed in a green metal cage in photos released by the authorities. Now people will be allowed to visit the tomb and offer prayers.

Mullah Omar was born in 1950 in the Khakrez district of southern Kandahar province and he belonged to the Hotak tribe. He was the most wanted terrorist by US authorities since 1994.

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.

Under his direction, the Taliban enforced a rigorous form of Islamic law that forbade women from participating in public life and established severe public punishments such as public hanging and beheading.

Some reports on social media also criticised the structure of the grave, calling it un-Islamic. Afghan Analyst quoting others in his tweet, said, “Islam forbids erecting structures over graves."

The Afghan news agency said that that Prime Minister of Afghanistan, Mullah Muhammad Hassan Akhund, acting Defence Minister Maulvi Muhammad Yaqub Mujahid, acting Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and several other leaders and members of Mullah Omar’s family visited his grave and prayed for him.