Pakis Nab Taliban Defense Minister

Well, it's not the one-eyed cyclops, Mullah Omar, but it's a start. Pakistan has arrested Mullah Obaidullah Akhund, supposedly one of Omar's top deputies. I get the distrinct impression after the events Tuesday with Dick Cheney that major pressure has been brought to bear on the Pakis to crack down. It would be in their best interests, needless to say.

Akhund was nabbed with four other suspects in a raid on a home in the southwestern city of Quetta on Monday, three intelligence officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.

The arrests came amid growing international pressure on Pakistan to crackdown on Taliban militants and coincided with a visit to Islamabad on Monday by Vice President Dick Cheney.

During his visit, Cheney had expressed concern to President Gen. Pervez Musharraf over al-Qaida regrouping inside Pakistan's tribal regions and an expected Taliban spring offensive in neighboring Afghanistan.

One of the intelligence officials said Akhund's arrest was a planned operation following a tip from U.S. officials and was not linked to Cheney's visit. He said that seven more Taliban suspects had been arrested, also in Quetta, later in the week. He had no information about the identities of the other suspects.

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