Another one of the top-ten most wanted of the Taliban has been captured. Strangely, Fox News got the exclusive leak from several members of the administration. Therefore, rather than let my fellow Kossacks endure reading Faux, I'll forward the details and implications. The story was originally reported by the Afghan news group Tol Afghan.
Mulvi Kabir was previously the Taliban's governor in the eastern province of Nangahar, which includes the city of Jalalabad. Nangahar Province is where the Shinwari tribe are most concentrated- the Shinwari elders recently declared war on the Taliban. But Mulvi Kabir was more than just a Taliban figure in Nangahar.
According to Long War Journal(disclaimer; connected to the Weekly Standard), Mulvi Kabir led the group's council in the Pakistani city of Peshawar which serves as the capital of Pashtun-dominated North-West Frontier Province. Kabir also served as a liaison between the Taliban leadership and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar(Hizb i-Islam), a warlord turned Taliban-ally who's power base is in the same area. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has been in tentative peace talks with the Afghan government. Mulvi Kabir is also thought to have had major contacts with Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakitan(TTP, "Pakistani Taliban") and al Qaeda.
As leader of the Peshawar Shura, Kabir served as a liaison between the Afghan Taliban and al Qaeda, Hezb-i-Islami Gulbuddin (Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's faction of Hezb-i-Islami), and the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, US intelligence officials told The Long War Journal. Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province and the adjoining tribal areas serve as a safe have for these groups.
It might be safe to assume that Kabir also had contacts with the Haqqani network in North Waziristan.
Mulvi Kabir was arrested in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province. According to Fox News, the information leading to Kabir's arrest came from Mullah Baradar who was captured last week in Karachi. Kabir was considered to be in the running to succeed Baradar. As it pertains to the hunt for al Qaeda, Mulvi Kabir is probably a lot better positioned to have information on the Pakistani/tribal-areas side than Mullah Baradar had.
Update:
A suicide bomber struck in Nangahar Province. 15 are dead, and according to Afghan police, Haji Zaman is amongst the dead. He was one of two warlords in the region to have assisted U.S. Special Forces during the battle of Tora Bora.(AP)
At least 27 civilians were mistakenly killed in an air-strike in Uruzgan province north of Kandahar. The convoy was thought to have been a militant convoy, but instead a number of women and children have been found. Very tragic. The details of what happened are not yet known but the area where the 3 vehicles were struck is under Taliban control. Uruzgan province's security is provided by Dutch NATO soldiers- the Dutch government has recently collapsed over the issue of the Afghan mission, leading to a general understanding that their forces will be exiting.(BBC)
Pakistan claims to have arrested 200 members of the Taliban who were trying to enter Pakistan from Afghanistan.(Nation)