Statement comes a day after announcement of top mullah's death, though it is unconfirmed

The Afghan Taliban, who have been fighting to topple the Kabul government for almost 14 years, said on Thursday that they were "not aware" of a new round of peace talks due the following day in Pakistan in a statement indicating the group may be pulling out of the negotiations.

The apparent rejection of the talks comes a day after Kabul announced the death of the Taliban's reclusive leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, but it was not immediately clear if the two developments were connected.