The Pashtun Times Latest News
PESHAWAR: A dissident Taliban leader, who refused pledging allegiance to the movement’s new head, has been detained by Pakistani security personnel.
Mullah Muhammad Rasool was chosen as head of the breakaway faction in early November by the Taliban opposed to Mullah Akhtar Mansoor’s appointment as the group’s supremo.
Rasool was arrested after he had fled recent infighting in southern Zabul province, where dozens of insurgents, including the breakaway faction’s deputy chief Mansoor Dadullah, were killed by Mansoor’s loyalists.
Mullah Rasool and Abdul Manan Niazi, managed to escape to Pakistan as the fighting intensified.“I can confirm that Mullah Rasool has been arrested,” one Taliban leader was quoted as saying.
A source in the splinter group also verified Rasool’s detention, according to The Express Tribune. The outfit is believed to have indicated its willingness to attend peace talks with the Afghan government. -Pajhwok
THE PASHTUN TIMES
