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ISLAMABAD/KABUL - Pakistani security forces have captured a high-ranking Taleban leader in the southwestern city of Quetta, a senior Pakistani security official and Taleban sources said today.
The capture of Mullah Obaidullah Akhund marked the first time Pakistan had arrested a senior leader of the Islamist militia since it was driven from power in Afghanistan in 2001, and thousands of its fighters fled into Pakistan.
The security official, who requested anonymity, and the Taleban sources said Akhund, the third most senior member of the Taleban's 10-member leadership council, was arrested late on Monday, hours after a surprise visit to Pakistan by US Vice-President Dick Cheney.
The head of the Interior Ministry's Crisis Management Unit, retired Brigadier Javed Iqbal Cheema, denied Akhund had been detained when asked by Reuters.
Aside from being on the leadership council, headed by Mullah Mohammad Omar, Akhund was defence minister in the Taleban government before it fell.
The arrest comes at a time when the Bush administration is facing a welter of skepticism from Democrats, the American media and several think-tanks over Pakistan's role as an ally in the war on terrorism.
Cheney had asked Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to "do more" to stop al Qaeda rebuilding its network from safe havens in Pakistani tribal lands, and step up efforts to thwart a spring offensive by the Taleban against Afghan and Nato troops.
The Pakistani security official said Akhund's arrest was the culmination of a planned operation, and was not a result of Cheney's visit.
- REUTERS
