ISLAMABAD, Pakistan | Pakistan’s intelligence agents have arrested a senior Afghan Taliban commander, officials said Thursday, the latest move in a crackdown against the insurgent network in Pakistan.
Agha Jan Mohtasim, a former finance minister for the Taliban before the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, was detained in the southern city of Karachi, two intelligence officials said. They did not say when the arrest was made, and spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to give their names to the media.
Pakistani and Afghan officials have said at least four other Afghan Taliban leaders have been arrested in Pakistan in recent weeks, including the No. 2 leader of the movement, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.
The arrests have been hailed by U.S. officials and many analysts as a major blow to the Taliban in Afghanistan, though they caution that the group has rebounded from the death or detention of previous leaders.
Earlier, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said he had no information on the arrest of Mohtasim. Afghan Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi denied he had been arrested.
There had been speculation that Mohtasim was in the running to replace Mullah Baradar, who was reportedly arrested in a joint raid with U.S. intelligence officials.
Born in the late 60s, Mohtasim was considered close to Taliban leader Mullah Omar. He was not known to be among the most hard-line group within the Taliban.
Earlier Thursday, dozens of militants attacked a security checkpoint in the northwest close to the Afghan border, sparking a gunbattle that left 30 insurgents and one soldier dead, officials said.
The battle occurred overnight in the Chamarkand area of the Mohmand tribal region, government and military officials said.
Chamarkand borders the Bajur tribal region, where the army said Tuesday it had finally defeated Taliban and al Qaeda militants after more than a year and a half of fighting.
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