LONDON, Sept 24: The fugitive Taliban commander Mullah Omar has emerged as the key player behind the controversial Waziristan peace deal.

The online edition of the Telegraph reported on Sunday that the Taliban’s one-eyed spiritual leader, who had a $10 million price on his head for refusing to hand over Osama bin Laden after the September 11 attacks, signed a letter explicitly endorsing the recently announced truce.

The deal between the government and North Waziristan elders in the tribal region bordering Afghanistan is reported to be designed to end five years of bloodshed in the area.

“While officially a US ally in the war on terror, Pakistan has been repeatedly accused by Afghanistan of not doing enough to clear Taliban militants out of its border regions, allegations it denies.

“However, Mullah Omar clearly felt that the deal benefited the Taliban, adding force to criticisms that it was in effect a cave-in.

“Tribal elders in south Waziristan said that Mullah Omar had sent one of his most trusted and feared commanders, Mullah Dadallah, to ask local militants to sign the truce. Dadallah, a one-legged fighter known for his fondness for beheading his enemies, is believed to be the man leading the campaign in southern Afghanistan in which 18 British troops have been killed.”