A Swiss newspaper claimed on Sunday that the TalibanÂ’s former defence minister was free two days after his reported capture by Pakistani security forces. The Swiss weekly SonntagsBlick said one of its reporters spoke to Mullah Obaidullah Akhund on February 28 unhindered in an Islamic school in the southwestern city of Quetta. Akhund, considered a key ally of fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Omar, was the most senior leader from the hard-line militia to be reported arrested since US-led troops ousted it from power in 2001. Several Pakistani intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said earlier this month that he was among five Taliban suspects arrested on February 26 in a raid on a Quetta home. However, Pakistani government officials at that time did not confirm any arrest publicly, and one senior Interior Ministry official who handles counterterrorism issues denied a top Taliban figure was captured.
Pakistani officials could not be reached for comment late on Sunday on the Swiss newspaper’s claim. The arrest purportedly took place the same day US Vice President Dick Cheney visited Pakistan, which has been under growing international pressure to crack down on Taliban militants. “The news is not true,” SonntagsBlick wrote. “The world press reported: top-Taliban imprisoned. At the same time he was sitting with a SonntagsBlick reporter having coffee.”