ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities have moved former Taliban second-in-command, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, to a safe house in the violence-plagued northwestern city of Peshawar as part of preparations for talks with the Afghan Taliban, security sources said on Thursday.
Baradar was released by Pakistan on September 20 in order to further facilitate the Afghan reconciliation process.
“Baradar was moved from one safe house in Karachi to another, and has now been moved to Peshawar,” one senior Pakistani security official told a foreign news agency, adding that “He has been in regular touch with his colleagues and the dialogue is on course.”
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was once a close friend of reclusive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar and still enjoys much respect among Taliban fighters. He belongs to the same tribe as Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
