DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Palau, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- A high-ranking Taliban official in Afghanistan reportedly has been captured by authorities in Pakistan in the border town of Dera Ismail Khan.
The official was identified as Latifullah Hakimi, a spokesman for the Taliban, who were driven out of power in Afghanistan by U.S. forces in 2001.
"Our security forces captured him today, and he is in our custody," said Pakistan's Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao.
Latifullah Hakimi has spoken regularly on behalf of the Taliban, which continues to oppose the U.S.-backed government of President Hamid Karzai in Kabul. The Taliban also is blamed for the resurgent insurgency mainly in the south and east of Afghanistan.
The Karzai government has accused Pakistan of not doing enough to curb Taliban fighters it claims are based on Pakistani soil. Pakistan denies the allegations.
