Questions remain over Taliban arrests
AlJazeeraEnglish - February 21, 2010 | Pakistan's latest moves against Taliban fighters on their territory have been hailed by the United States, but others have questioned whether the increased co-operation is a ploy by Islamabad to assert its position as a key player in negotiations with the movement.
Mullah Brader, a trusted friend of Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader, was believed to be one of the key negotiators for the Taliban in Saudi Arabian-backed on reconciliation and reintegration talks.
He was recently arrested in Karachi in a joint Pakistan-US operation, according to US media reports, and is now apparently being interrogated by US and Pakistani agents.
It remains to be seen how his arrest impacts the negotiations.
Two other Taliban commanders from northern Afghanistan have also reportedly been detained in Pakistan in recent weeks.
Imtiaz Gul, a specialist on Pakistan's tribal region and author of The Al Qaeda Connection told Al Jazeera co-operation between Pakistan is improving.
"I think that the military establishment has started co-operating with the United States now that the US has also started viewing the military establishment in Pakistan with more trust.
"There seems to be a very clear policy shift as far as Pakistan's relations with the Afghan Taliban are concerned - because they are also directly impacting the situation inside Pakistan," he said.
Despite the fact that Islamabad is apparently now providing the co-operation long demanded by Afghanistan, officials in Kabul have made little comment about the arrests.
Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr reports from Kabul on whether Pakistan's latest moves are helping or hindering attempts to end the conflict with the Taliban.
February 21, 2010 | Exclusive: Major Taliban Operative Captured
Mulvi Kabir, the former Taliban governor in Afghanistan's Nangahar Province, and a key figure in the Taliban regime was recently captured in Pakistan, two senior US officials tell Fox News. Kabir, considered to be among the top ten most wanted Taliban leaders, was apprehended in the Naw Shera district of Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province by Pakistani police forces.
A senior U.S. military official in Afghanistan called Kabir a “significant detention”.
The intelligence that led to Kabir's capture was gathered from Mullah Baradar, the Taliban’s second in command, who was picked up roughly two weeks ago in Karachi, Pakistan by a joint CIA and Pakistani intelligence operation.
Baradar’s capture has been followed by a series of major detentions within the Taliban’s ranks in recent days, individuals U.S. officials are describing as “shadow governors” who operate from the safety of Pakistan’s frontier and tribal regions. Aside from Kabir, Mullah Salam of Afghanistan’s Kunduz province and Mullah Mohammad, who reportedly controlled the Baghlan province, are two of the most notable captures since Baradar was detained.
