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Pakistan Taliban spokesman 'held' | Pakistan Taliban spokesman 'held' |
(20 minutes later) | |
Pakistan's army has arrested a man they believe to be the chief spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, officials say. | |
Maulvi Omar, spokesman for the Tehrik Taliban Pakistan (TTP), was reportedly picked up in the Mohmand tribal area close to the Afghan border. | Maulvi Omar, spokesman for the Tehrik Taliban Pakistan (TTP), was reportedly picked up in the Mohmand tribal area close to the Afghan border. |
He is said to have been a key aide of Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, thought to have been killed recently. | |
Pakistani officials are expected to produce Mr Omar before journalists later on Tuesday. | |
"A very, very important militant has been arrested," Major Fazal Ur Rehman told the AFP news agency. | "A very, very important militant has been arrested," Major Fazal Ur Rehman told the AFP news agency. |
Mr Rehman said the detainee would be presented before journalists at a news conference in the tribal Mohmand region. | |
Pakistani security forces have clashed with militants recently in Mohmand, which is controlled by the Taliban. | Pakistani security forces have clashed with militants recently in Mohmand, which is controlled by the Taliban. |
The BBC's Aleem Maqbool, in Islamabad, says Mr Omar's detention will be seen as another success for the Pakistani military. | The BBC's Aleem Maqbool, in Islamabad, says Mr Omar's detention will be seen as another success for the Pakistani military. |
Mr Omar was a senior aide to Baitullah Mehsud, and Pakistan will be hoping the removal of key leadership figures will plunge the Taliban into disarray, our correspondent says. | Mr Omar was a senior aide to Baitullah Mehsud, and Pakistan will be hoping the removal of key leadership figures will plunge the Taliban into disarray, our correspondent says. |
But the infrastructure through which militants have been recruited and trained and the country's complex problems remain. | But the infrastructure through which militants have been recruited and trained and the country's complex problems remain. |
The arrest follows a concerted military offensive against the Taliban in Swat. | The arrest follows a concerted military offensive against the Taliban in Swat. |
There has been a surge of violence in the north-west since the army launched an operation to dislodge Taliban militants from their strongholds there this summer. | |
Islamabad and Washington say Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone attack earlier this month. | |
Maulvi Omar comes from Bajaur, a tribal area where the Taliban established themselves early on. | Maulvi Omar comes from Bajaur, a tribal area where the Taliban established themselves early on. |