 Pakistani security forces have captured a high-ranking Taliban leader in the southwestern city of Quetta, a senior Pakistani security official and Taliban sources said on Thursday. 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 Taliban sources said Akhund, the third most senior member of the Taliban's 10-member leadership council, was arrested late on Monday, hours after a surprise visit to Pakistan by U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney.
"Youse guys! We gotta give this Dick fella somethin' or he's gonna drop da heat on us!"
"How 'bout cousin Mahmoud? He's kinda shifty."
"Naw, we need someone better den him!" |
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 defense minister in the Taliban government before it fell.
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 Taliban 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.
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