By IRNA,
Islamabad : Pakistani intelligence agents have arrested another senior Afghan Taliban leader in the port city of Karachi, official sources said on Thursday.
Mutasim Agha Jan, formerly in charge of political affairs of Afghan Taliban, was arrested in a raid from a house in Suhrab Goth area, they said.
Mutasim is the 7th senior Afghan Taliban leader to be arrested in Pakistan in two months.
He was believed to have led Taliban leaders in talks in Saudi Arabia.
Mulla Abdul Ghani Baradar, number two in Taliban hierarchy and head of the group’s military operations, was arrested in Karachi last month in a joint operation by the American CIA and Pakistani intelligence agents.
Mulla Abdul Kabir, the operational commander for the four eastern Afghan provinces of Nangarhar, Laghman, Kunar and Nuristan was also arrested near the city of Nowshera in the northwest.
Mulla Abdul Salam and Mulla Mir Mohammad, the Taliban “shadow” governors for the northern Kunduz and Baghlan provinces, respectively, were also held in Nowshera district.
But the Afghan Taliban leader who was arrested in Pakistan much earlier was Younis Akhundzada, also referred to as Akhundzada Popalzai.
He had served in important positions in the Taliban government during 1994-2001 and was reportedly made the “shadow” governor for Zabul province.
Syed Tayyeb Agha, former spokesman for Taliban chief Mulla Omar was also arrested in Karachi this month, according to intelligence sources.
An Afghan source said that Tayyeb Agha is the son in law of Mulla Omar.
Agha had introduced himself to the investigators as Tayyeb Popalzai, to hide his identity, sources said.
Sources say that many Afghan Taliban leaders have moved to Karachi after the US officials complained that they had been living in Quetta, the capital of southwestern Balochistan province.
Pakistan had been insisting that no Afghan Taliban leader is hiding in the country.
The arrest of senior Afghan Taliban leaders in Pakistan has led to a controversy between Pakistani and Afghan governments as Kabul wants all arrested Taliban leaders be handed over to Afghan authorities.
Hameed Omar, Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman says that Pakistan has agreed to hand over Mulla Baradar to Afghan government.
But Pakistan says that it will consider the extradition of the arrested Taliban leaders if a formal request was made.