Capture of Taliban chief a boost for Nato forces

The Taliban's most senior military commander, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, has been captured over the border from Afghanistan in Pakistan in a joint operation by Pakistani and American intelligence forces. The news was broken by the New York Times, who learned of his capture last Thursday but sat on it at the request of the White House, who feared its release would bring to a stop a hugely successful intelligence gathering effort.

Mullah Baradar is second only to the Taliban's supreme leader Mullah Muhammad Omar. Like Omar, he is thought to be close to the al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Baradar's capture is a great coup for the Americans, as they spearhead Nato's current Operation Moshtarak to rid central Helmand province of Taliban insurgents. His capture could cripple the Taliban's military operation, according to former CIA officer Bruce Riedel.

The New York Times reports that it is unclear whether Mullah Baradar "was talking" but understands that his capture has "provided a window into the Taliban" and might lead to the arrest of further senior Taliban commanders.

Also significant is the degree to which the Pakistani forces were involved in Baradar's capture. Senior Taliban leaders have long used Pakistan as a safe haven. Security analysts hope Baradar's arrest in Karachi heralds the end of the Pakistan military's ambivalent attitude to the hardline Islamic movement that has kept American and Nato forces in Afghanistan since 2001. ·