Pak captured Mulla Baradar to stop him from reconciling with Afghan govt: Wali Karzai

ISLAMABAD - According to the latest revelations made by whistleblower website WikiLeaks, Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, has charged that Pakistan detained Mulla Baradar and other Taliban leaders because they were prepared to discuss reintegration with the Afghan government.

Headlined as “Capture of Mulla Baradar”, a cable said that the Senior Civil Representative (SCR) of the United States in Afghanistan, Frank Ruggiero, met one-on-one with Wali Karzai on February 23, The News reported.

According to the cable, on being asked by Ruggiero about his views on the recent capture of Taliban leader Mulla Baradar in Pakistan, Wali Karzai said that said Pakistan had detained Baradar and other Taliban leaders because they were prepared to discuss reintegration with the Karzai government.

Senior Taliban fighters in Pakistan may be prepared to reintegrate, he said, but are forced by the Pakistan government to continue to fight.

Wali Karzai said that some Afghan Taliban commanders cannot return to Afghanistan because they are on the Joint Priority Effects List (JPEL), and are told by the Pakistanis that they must continue to fight or will be turned over to the coalition.

It is important to remove such fighters from the JPEL for reintegration to work, he argued, adding that he had been working on the reconciliation issue with the Saudis for two to three years.

It is noteworthy that the US media has often hurled such allegations against Pakistan.

The arrest of Mulla Baradar in Karachi intensified accusations against Pakistan, and it was charged that the Taliban commander was captured in order to stop him from reconciling with the United States and Afghanistan. Pakistan however dismissed these allegations. (ANI)