Talib Leader “Seized”

Afghani Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Kabir has been “seized in Pakistan” according to American media reports which say he was picked up in the city of Nowshera. “Mullah Abdul Kabir is widely believed to be a senior member of the Quetta Shura, the Taliban leadership council allegedly based in Pakistan. He was reported to have been picked up in the city of Nowshera in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province. But local police and a spokesman for Pakistan’s army chief told the BBC that no such arrest had taken place. Mullah Abdul Kabir is said to have been arrested last week, unnamed Pakistani intelligence officials told US media. He was the governor of eastern Nangarhar Province during the Taliban government. But Taliban spokesmen have denied the arrest. If confirmed, his detention would be just the latest in a series of arrests of senior Taliban chiefs over the past few weeks. The ‘shadow governors’ of two northern Afghan provinces, Mullah Abdul Salam and Mullah Mir Mohammad, were also reported to have been arrested about two weeks ago in Pakistan. Neither of these arrests were confirmed by Pakistan’s army spokesman.”