Pakistan arrests top Taliban commander

Top Taliban commander Nasiruddin Haqqani, a key fundraiser of his outfit, has been arrested by Pakistani security agencies apparently in response to United States demands for action against militant networks in the restive North Waziristan tribal region.

Pakistani agents picked up Nasiruddin, whose 'jihadist' code name is 'Dr Khan', this week while he was "travelling" by car with four militants from Peshawar to North Waziristan, Newsweek magazine reported.

The arrest of Nasiruddin, son of Taliban's Haqqani network's top leader Jalaluddin Haqqani, seemed to be in answer to "US calls for greater toughness against Taliban networks" operating on Pakistan's border, from where they launch attacks on foreign troops in Afghanistan, the report said.

The US has stepped up pressure on Pakistan to act against the Haqqani network though reports have said the military establishment is reluctant to do so because of its links to the group.

Pakistani officials have remained silent about Nasiruddin's arrest though a senior government official confirmed the militant leader's capture, the report said.

The official also said that the US had not been informed of the arrest. The official said Nasiruddin had been "picked up to serve as a 'hostage' in Pakistan's effort to try to exert more control over the jihadist group."

Nasiruddin and the other prisoners were moved to an ISI-run safe house where they will be interrogated. Pakistani sources said it was unlikely that US intelligence will get access to Nasiruddin, "largely because he could reveal just how closely the Haqqanis are linked to the ISI and other Pakistan intelligence agencies."

One of the men travelling with Nasiruddin was a senior Haqqani commander named Mullah Muhammad Jan, Newsweek quoted Taliban and Pakistan government sources as saying.

The violent Haqqani network has "operated with impunity in North Waziristan, attacking US troops across the border in Afghanistan," the report said.

Admiral Mike Mullen, the top US military officer, made an unscheduled stop in Islamabad last week to deliver a message of "strategic impatience" to the government, it added.

The arrest of Nasiruddin, who has relatives in the Arab Gulf region, is significant as he is "reportedly the Haqqani network's key fundraiser and financial operative in the Middle East," it said.

It is also believed that Nasiruddin's mother hails from the United Arab Emirates.

Afghan Taliban sources told the magazine that Nasiruddin was a frequent visitor to the Gulf, "travelling on various Pakistani passports, as he raised large cash donations to fund the jihad against the US military in Afghanistan."

The Taliban sources said Nasiruddin and his four companions were arrested as they were returning from the Haj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, "a trip that also had included substantial fundraising activities."

Nasiruddin's arrest could "severely hamper fundraising for the insurgent network." An Afghan Taliban source, who declined to be named for security reasons, said: "It is a serious blow to the Haqqanis' financial network."

Nasiruddin is the younger half-brother of Sirajuddin Haqqani, a top commander responsible for several bombings in Kabul, including a car bomb attack on the Indian embassy two years ago.

The ISI is "believed to be close to the Haqqani network and to other Taliban groups," the report said. "The arrest, observers say, may be an attempt by Pakistan to gain more credibility with the US, even if the government isn't about to launch a full-scale offensive into North Waziristan," it added.

"The message is very clear... Be careful, we can arrest anyone of you at any time," a Taliban commander who spoke on condition of anonymity told Newsweek.

In February, Pakistani agents acted on US information and nabbed senior Afghan Taliban commander Mullah Baradar in Karachi. Though the US will welcome Nasiruddin Haqqani's capture, the report said it "may not be enough to take American heat off Islamabad."

Gen David Petraeus, the senior US commander in Afghanistan, has been "making it clear to Pakistan through news leaks and direct communications that the US is considering launching cross-border raids by special operations forces and is ready to extend the scope and frequency of armed American drone attacks in the tribal areas, if Islamabad doesn't do more and soon to attack and disrupt the militants' safe havens and staging areas."

"Petraeus knows that the success of the US troop surge depends on stemming the flow of fresh jihadist recruits from the tribal areas and Balochistan into Afghanistan. Without a strong check on cross-border movement, the US strategy in Afghanistan, in other words, will be jeopardised," it added.