PESHAWAR: Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid on Tuesday denied that any pamphlets had been distributed by the group in the name of their leader Mullah Mohammad Omar that had called for seeking guidance from the Holy Quran to resolve differences between two rival factions of the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.

In an email, Mujahid said there was no truth in the association of the pamphlet with Omar, adding that the leadership of the Afghan Taliban had no knowledge of it.

He said the pamphlets appear to have been taken out by local group(s) and had no association with the Afghan Taliban leadership.

The pamphlet, apparently quoting Omar, had called for seeking guidance from the Holy Quran to resolve differences between TTP’s Khan Said and Sheheryar groups amid reports of rifts widening between the two.

The pamphlet which was written in Pashto carried Omar’s name and was issued in Miramshah (North Waziristan) on Monday.

Stating that there were serious differences among fighters of the Mehsud tribe in South Waziristan, the pamphlet had asked them to recite verses from Quran to end hostilities.

Clashes between the Khan Said and Sheheryar groups have left a large number of militants dead and injured.

The two groups are fighting to capture the TTP leadership in South Waziristan.

Sheheryar has refused to accept Khan Said alias Sajna as chief of TTP’s Mehsud militants and has declared himself as their leader.