ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- A Pakistani official said Tuesday the claim that Taliban commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar had been captured by U.S. and Pakistani forces was propaganda.
The New York Times reported Monday that White House officials confirmed that joint U.S. and Pakistani intelligence agencies captured Baradar, identified as one of the highest-ranking Taliban officials captured since 2001.
U.S. officials told the Times that members of the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence Service and the CIA arrested Baradar "several days ago" in Karachi, Pakistan.
Rehman Malik, the Pakistani interior minister, said Tuesday the claim Baradar was arrested in a joint raid was propaganda, Pakistan's News International new service reports.
Malik said his officials were examining the issue and would release an official statement if any high-profile figures in the Taliban were captured in his country.
"We are a sovereign state and hence will not allow anybody to come and do any operation," he said. "And we will not allow that. So this (report) is propaganda."
The news media ran amok last week regarding claims that Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud was dead. Mehsud, according the media narrative, died in either January or February. The Taliban have yet to issue a formal statement on Mehsud.
U.S. military officials said Baradar was offering vital information on Taliban and al-Qaida.
The Times in its report said the Taliban were unaware he was captured. The Taliban claimed the Baradar claims were false.
