THE confirmation by the Taliban, after some initial hesitation, that their supreme leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, was no longer alive, brings to an end another interesting chapter in Afghanistan's recent history. The remnants of the Taliban leadership located in Pakistan had no alternative but to confirm the demise of their reclusive leader after the government in Kabul announced in the last week of July that it was certain that the former head of the Taliban government that ruled the country from 1997 to 2001, was no longer alive.