Counterterrorism Blog

Mullah Obaidullah Akhund, former defense minister of the Taliban government and described as the current #3 on the ladder of the Taliban's 10-member leadership council, was captured in Quetta. But this is the second time Akhund has been in custody since the liberation of Kabul from Taliban rule in 2001. Akhund actually surrendered to the local Afghan government in late 2001 or early 2002 but was promptly released as part of an "amnesty deal," leaving American officials dumbfounded and angry. Afghan officials charged in 2004 that Pakistan was allowing Akhund to cross back and forth across the border without hindrance. An October 2004 U.S. military briefing document, stored on a hard drive bought at an outdoor bazaar in Kabul, stated that he was in Pakistan.

Akhund became more publicly available for interviews and statements, which may have ultimately enabled the Pakistanis to locate and capture him. In March 2004, he told Reuters that Al Qaeda #2 Ayman al-Zawahiri was not in South Waziristan. In January 2006, he called a Reuters reporter to reject an offer for peace discussions and labeled President Karzai "American puppet" who should be tried in an Islamic court. "Hamid Karzai, the American agent, has turned Afghanistan into an American base and has killed thousands of Afghans." That February, he told the Associated Press, "We will step up attacks as the weather changes. The Taliban movement is active under the leadership of Mullah Mohammad Omar. And Taliban will fight till the last Talib is alive." After Saddam Hussein was hanged in December, Akhund defended him in an interview with a Reuters reporter: "Saddam's hanging on the day of Eid is a challenge to Muslims. His death will boost the morale of Muslims. The jihad in Iraq will be intensified and attacks on invader forces will increase. Thousands of people will rise up with hatred for America. Bush and Blair have launched a crusade against Muslims. Saddam was hanged because he was a Muslim, while slaves like Jalal Talabani in Iraq and Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan have been given power. Muslims should unite against the infidels, join the jihad and support the mujahideen because jihad has become an obligation for Muslims all over the world. God willing, both Afghanistan and Iraq will prove to be another Vietnam for America ... God willing, the invader forces in Afghanistan and Iraq will soon face defeat."

Let's hope the Paks don't do what the Afghans did, and we get a chance to question him about the whereabouts of Mullah Omar and the Taliban and Al Qaeda leadership. This is a huge capture.

(EDITED on Mar. 2 to remove the picture - source page was incorrect - picture of other mullah with same name)

UPDATE, Mar. 2: The Pakistanis also arrested two other high-ranking Taliban: Amir Khan Haqqani, Taliban commander in Zabul, and Abdul Bari, the former Governor of Helmand province. In October 2006, a New York Times reporter was shown a house in Quetta in which Haqqani allegedly resided. The U.S. chased him throughout his territory in Afghanistan for years without success.

Maybe President Bush should have sent Vice President Cheney to Tora Bora in 2001...