Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader died two years ago in Pakistan, Afghanistan government said.
The government said in a press release "The government of Afghanistan believes that grounds for the Afghan peace talks are more paved now than before, and thus calls on all armed opposition groups to seize the opportunity and join the peace process,".
The Afghan government said it is investigating reports regarding the death of Taliban leader Mullah Omar.
President Ashraf Ghani’s deputy spokesman, in a news conference on Wednesday said the government was aware of the reports of his death and was in the process of assessing them.
Afghan government and intelligence sources reported earlier that Omar had "died two or three years ago".
The US State Department's spokesperson, John Kirby, said the the US cannot confirm Omar's death.
Omar was born around 1960 in rural southern Afghanistan. He reportedly rose to power as a commander who fought the Russian occupation around the city of Kandahar.
According to a biography published by the Afghan Taliban , Omar was described as being actively involved in "jihadi activities".
In the past 13 years, Omar has stayed completely out of the public eye amid growing power struggles within the Taliban and fears of ISIL's influence in their ranks as an ideological rival.
Source: Al Jazeera
