Returning Pakistani Islamists Who Fought For Taliban, Under Arrest In Pakistan

Sufi Mohammad, the leader of the Tanzim Nifaz-e-Shariat Muhammadi party, and his 30 followers who were fighting for the Taliban, have been arrested on returning to Pakistan. According to the News, they have been arrested on charges of illegal arms possession while crossing the Afghan-Pakistani border near Parachinar (the Kurram autonomous area.) Several weeks ago, Sufi Mohammad set up and sent to Afghanistan a 5,000-10,000-strong unit manned with Pakistani fanatics wanting to participate in "jihad." Several thousand fighters have already returned to Pakistan following the Taliban retreat to Kandahar. According to the newspaper, up to 2,000 Pakistanis are still continuing to fight in the Northern Afghan province of Kunduz. The Taliban units deployed in the region, are also manned with mercenaries from Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Chechnya, as well as with Arabs and Uigurs. The newspaper reports that Taliban commanders Maulawi Khaji Omar Khan and Mullah Dadullah, the Taliban governor of Kunduz, are currently negotiating a surrender to UN representatives or a withdrawal of their troops under the aegis of the UN.