ASIA PACIFIC
Date Posted: 03-Mar-2010
Jane's Defence Weekly
Pakistan arrests take high toll on Taliban
Farhan Bokhari JDW Correspondent - Islamabad
Pakistan's arrest of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and other high profile Taliban militants last month "has practically wiped out half of the Afghan Taliban's top leadership", according to a Pakistani security official.
On 26 February, documents submitted to the High Court of the Punjab in Lahore named the four other key Taliban militants as Mullah Abdus Salaam, Mullah Kabir, Mullah Mohammad and Mullah Amir Muawiya. Additionally, Pakistani security officials said another four or five militants from the top 'shura' or 18 member leadership council of the Taliban had also been arrested, but declined to name them.
"Taken together, we have nabbed about half the Taliban shura," said the Pakistani security official, who spoke to Jane's on condition of anonymity.
While the arrests are evidence of a significant victory for Pakistan's campaign to target Taliban militants, the Punjab high court on 26 February, responding to a private petition, stopped the Pakistani government from handing over any of the arrested Taliban to a foreign country. The case will be heard further on 15 March.
The petitioner of the case, Khalid Khawaja, who has campaigned against Pakistan's support to the United States (US)-led campaign on terror, described the court's decision as an important milestone for his cause. "The court has to hear this case further. But I am convinced, this decision is recognition of my point of view. We can't blindly hand over people to the US or Afghanistan or any other country," he said.
The court decision came a day after the office of Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced in Kabul that there had been an agreement with Pakistan for Baradar to be handed over to the Afghan authorities. Pakistani officials had said that handing over of Baradar to Afghanistan would have provided direct access to the CIA and the US military to interrogate him.
On 3 March, a western defence official based in Islamabad said that the events of late February and early March have highlighted Pakistan's position as a facilitator in US-led efforts to clamp down on Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants, although Islamabad can also be seen as a source of hindrance.
"Many Islamic militants will remain out of reach for the US and NATO unless Pakistan co-operates. But Pakistan also has a strong body of anti-US opinion. It is also a country with a judicial system and a functioning parliament where there are voices opposed to the US," said the western defence official, speaking to Jane's on condition of anonymity.
"Pakistan's co-operation can simply not be taken for granted in the light of all of these factors," the official concluded.