The Presidential Palace (ARG) on Thursday raised doubts over reports published in Pakistani media that Islamabad has initiated crackdown against a number of high profile Afghan Taliban leaders residing in Pakistan.
Dawa Khan Minapal, President Ashraf Ghani’s deputy spokesman expressed unawareness about the reports that could prove the credibility of the news, but advocated Islamabad for a swift handover of the Taliban inmates to Afghanistan.
“Pakistani government has not informed the Afghan government over its claims of arresting several Taliban members; therefore, Kabul cannot verify the credibility of the report,” he said.
The statement comes a day after Pakistani officials announced that at least three senior Taliban leaders , including Ahmadullah Muti alias Mullah Nanai who served as Taliban’s designated intelligence chief, Sulaiman Agha, Taliban’s designated governor for Daikundi province and Mullah Sani, also known as Samad Sani, head of a religious school and a well-known Afghan businessman who have links with the Taliban, have also been taken into custody in Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province.
Pakistani media reported that Mullah Nanai was arrested from a madrassa compound in Quetta city, the provincial capital of Baluchistan.
Mullah Nanai, who is originally a native of southern Kandahar province, has served in some key positions within the group. He worked as deputy head of the Peshawar commission, minister of public works, Balkh governor and Herat governor in the Taliban regime (1996 to 2001).
Nanai also enjoys close ties with Haqqani network and was leading the Taliban war in the eastern regions of Afghanistan.
Commenting on the report, military analyst Jawed Kohistani said: “Internal disputes within the Taliban has led to the arrest of these members; however, from the figures, some of them have strong reputation among the Taliban in terms of financial issues and in culture perspective.”
Previously, Pakistan launched similar crackdowns against a number of influential Taliban leaders in that country, including the dramatic detention of the group’s top commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. However, Pakistan never showed willingness to handover them to the Afghan government – a move that raised serious questions on Pakistan’s counter-terror policy.
“There are similar cases about the members of Tehreek-e-Taliban in Pakistan who were later murdered or detained, for instance Mullah [Abdul Ghani] Baradar, Mullah Obaidullah and similar individuals,” said university lecturer Nasrullah Stanikzai.
According to reports, Pakistan is facing with increasing pressure from the international community over its controversial role in the war against terrorism.
Bilateral ties between Kabul and Islamabad have also strained over Pakistan’s reluctance to target Taliban’s hideouts in Pakistan, reports indicate. http://www.tolonews.com/en/afghanistan/27788-arg-skeptical-over-pakistans-crackdown-against-key-taliban-leaders
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