Islamabad, September 11: The Pakistani army says it has arrested the first most-wanted militants’ commander in the troubled northwestern Swat valley.
“The spokesman Muslim Khan and four other Taliban leaders were arrested from Swat in a successful operation,” the military spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas said Friday.
The country posted a reward of more than 600,000 dollars for Maulana Fazlullah and offered rewards for 15 of his top comrades who had led the insurgency in the volatile valley since 2007.
Friday marked the first announcement of any arrests from the list.
“Muslim Khan and Mahmood Khan with head money of 10 million rupees (120,482 US dollars) have been arrested by security forces in a successful operation in Swat,” the military spokesman said.
Muslim Khan was second in the most-wanted list behind Fazlullah.
The arrest was not yet ascertained by the authorities from where the militants were captured, according to a Press TV correspondent.
However, a local newspaper quoted militants sources as saying some of the commanders were engaged in secret peace talks with the army when they were detained.
Pakistani interior ministry was quick to deny the allegations, saying they were captured in a successful operation.
Military sources claim more than 2,000 insurgents and over 300 soldiers have been killed in the army offensives against the militants in the scenic valley since late April.
The troops launched operations in the Swat valley and adjoining districts after militants were trying to infiltrate into Islamabad and other major cities.
Pakistan’s ruling people party has vowed to flush out the militants from most part of the nuclear-armed country.
—–Agencies