ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will release Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, former Afghan Taliban second-in-command, in the next one or two days, however refused to hand over him to authorities in Afghanistan.
The reconciliation process with the Taliban may be sabotaged if Baradar is handed over to Afghanistan, Prime Minister’s adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz told a foreign news agency on Monday.
Aziz said that after the release it will be up to Baradar whether he remains in Pakistan or go somewhere else.
Baradar was captured from Karachi in February 2010 and is one of the four men who founded the Taliban movement in 1994. He is believed to be a close aide and one of the most trusted commanders of Mullah Muhammad Omar, the spiritual leader of the Taliban.
Pakistan has consistently been asked by Afghan authorities to release Baradar, whose release they believe would prove fruitful in negotiations with Taliban militants.
