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– ABDUL GHANI BARADAR CAPTURED IN KARACHI
A top Taliban commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was captured several days ago in Madarassa Khuddamul Quran – near the Nooriabad Industrial Estate some 45km (28 miles) from Karachi, Pakistan, in a secret joint operation by Pakistani and American intelligence forces, according to American government officials, on Monday 02/15/2010 evening. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was the Taliban military commander and in charge on the financing system of the organization (see also – Arrests 10.18.09). He was arrested, probably, on Monday 02/08/2010, along with several other militant figures.
According to Interpol, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was born in 1968 and served as deputy minister of defense for the Taliban regime in Afghanistan before it was toppled, in 12/2001, in operation Absolute Justice. He has been subject to UN sanctions including a travel ban, an arms embargo and the freezing of assets. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was reported to have engaged in an e-mail exchange with Newsweek magazine in 07/2009, in which he vowed to “inflict maximum losses” on US forces in Afghanistan.
A Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied the reports, saying Mullah Baradar was still in Afghanistan actively organizing the group’s military and political activities.
Recently Abdul Ghani Baradar’s influence in the Taliban was substantially weakened when he approached the Pakistani regime in order to negotiate possible financial and military “arrangements”, which can be the reason he was in Karachi (see also – Enigmatic-Peace). It is therefore possible that his opponents in the Taliban tipped off the CIA in order to get rid of him (see – Kai’s Talks).
The Taliban loyal to Mullah Omar is just one of several groups, which, together, compose the Afghan insurgency. The other groups are effected only a little from Abdul Ghani Baradar’s arrest.
Pakistan has freed Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, to enable him to play a pivotal role in back-channel talks with the USA, through the Pakistani Army, Asia Times Online reported on Friday 10/15/2010.
It is probably whom Gen. David Petraeus referred to when he said in London on Friday that NATO-ISAF has granted safe passage to Kabul for at least one Taliban commander to hold talks with the Afghan government. He said in London the move aimed to back President Hamid Karzai’s efforts to reach out to the insurgents (see -Peace-Talks 10.06.10) .
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