Taliban figure meets with Afghan officials in Pakistan
A Pakistani policeman searches a pedestrian at a security check point in Karachi on February 16, 2010. At the time, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik branded as ‘propaganda’ reports that the top Taliban military commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar had been arrested in a joint Pakistani-US spy operation.
Taliban figure and former second-in-command Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar met with Afghan officials in Pakistan, where he is currently being detained, Reuters reported.
The meeting, which occurred two months ago but was only confirmed by officials to Reuters Sunday, could signal Islamabad's willingness to aid in restarting peace talks between Afghanistan and the insurgents.
Baradar has been in detention in Pakistan since he was captured in Karachi by CIA and Pakistani intelligence agents, another move which showed a new level of cooperation between the US and Pakistan, NPR reported.
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Afghanistan had been requesting access to Baradar since his capture, according to Reuters.
"They had access at the required and appropriate level," Rehman Malik, Pakistan's interior minister, told reporters. "We are fully cooperating with Afghanistan and whatever they are asking for the peace process, for developing peace in Afghanistan. We are giving every kind of help."
Meanwhile, Top Afghan peace negotiator Salahuddin Rabbani canceled his Pakistan visit last week amid speculations that Kabul is displeased with how Islamabad has handled a border shelling dispute between the two countries, Deutsche Welle reported.
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