ISLAMABAD, 5 October 2005 — Pakistan Security Forces apprehended a Taleban’s spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi yesterday, sources said.
Interior Minister, Aftab Ahmed Sherpao confirmed the report of his arrest . The arrest is said to be a major achievement in war against terrorism.
“He was arrested a few hours ago. Intelligence agencies worked on a tip-off. More details will come later,” Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao told reporters.
Hakimi, who has been the main spokesman for the Taleban, was caught in southwestern Balochistan province, Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said.
“We’re interrogating him and we expect to get some important information from him,” he said.
Asked if Hakimi would be handed over to the United States, as have other Taleban and Al-Qaeda militants arrested in Pakistan, Sheikh Rashid said: “First we will interrogate him and then we will see.”
Hakimi was frequently in touch with reporters, speaking by satellite telephone from an undisclosed location, although Afghan and US officials have long suspected he was in Pakistan.
In June, the former US ambassador to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, publicly questioned Pakistan’s inability to find him and other Taleban figures.
Hakimi often made outlandish claims on behalf of Taleban fighters, saying they had inflicted huge casualties on US and Afghan government troops.
