Pak denies arrest of close aide of top Taliban commander

Pak authorities dismissed a claim by the governor of Afghanistan's Kunduz province that a close aide of top Taliban commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar had been arrested in Punjab province.

Pakistani authorities on Friday dismissed a claim by the governor of Afghanistan’s Kunduz province that a close aide of top Taliban commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar had been arrested in Punjab province.

The Afghan official had claimed that Mullah Abdul Salam had been arrested in Faisalabad,located 100 km from here.

Salam was a “shadow governor” of the Taliban who was reportedly in charge of raising funds,imposing Islamic law,collecting taxes and running Shariah courts.

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“Neither police nor intelligence agencies have arrested any Taliban commander by the name of Mullah Abdul Salam,” regional police chief Mohammad Tahir said.

He also denied the presence of the FBI in Faisalabad.

There were reports about the Taliban shadow governor’s arrest after Pakistani authorities confirmed the capture of Mullah Baradar,the deputy of supreme Taliban commander Mullah Muhammad Omar.

US officials have said Baradar was arrested in Karachi during a joint operation by Pakistani and American intelligence operatives.

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There were also reports that law enforcement agencies had picked up Salam on the basis of information gleaned from Mullah Baradar.