Pakistan has arrested a senior member of the Afghan Taliban, Hafez Mohibullah, who served as Religious Affairs Minister when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan until 2001, to put pressure on the militant group amid talks with the United States.
He was held in Peshawar.
Former Religious Affairs Minister Hafez Mohibullah had been living in Peshawar for a number of years, sources said.
The U.S. authorities have been pressurizing Pakistan to take action against the Taliban and other militant groups.
They are also asking the Pakistan military to talk to the militants to reach a settlement in Afghanistan and bring the 17-year war to an end.
Taliban representatives said, Mohibullah was detained by
Pakistan to pressurize them for meeting Khalilzad and Afghan President Ashraf
Ghani’s representatives.
There was a meeting with Pakistani officials on the upcoming peace talks which
ended in arguments after that the authorities raided a number of houses and
arrested Mohibullah.
Pakistan denies backing the militants and sheltering them on
its soil. There
was no immediate response from the Pakistan authorities after the arrest.
