Mullah Baradar: Refusing to Speak

Newspaper reports suggest that the United States is seeking to transfer the arrested Taliban second-in-command Mullah Baradar to an American prison in Afghanistan. Mullah Baradar has maintained his silence since his arrest. He is currently lodged in a Pakistani prison.

Since his arrest somewhere in the first week of February 2010, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, has been described by American officials as the most significant catch among the Afghanistan Taliban. He ranks second in influence only to Mullah Muhammad Omar, the Taliban's founder and a close associate of Osama bin Laden. Mullah Baradar is known to have controlled the day to day operations of the Taliban in Afghanistan under the figurehead of Mullah Omar who has only made occasional appearances.

It was strongly believed that after his arrest Mullah Baradar would be able to provide vital inputs which could lead to the arrest of other Taliban leaders in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The arrest of Mullah Baradar in a secret joint operation by Pakistani and American intelligence forces marked a strategic shift in US-Pak approach to fight terrorist based in Pakistan, elements that are known to be involved in attacks on NATO troops in Afghanistan.

In fact the New York Times which broke the story first had delayed reporting the arrest on the request of the White House officials who felt that the if the news became public it would negatively impact the NATO efforts. It was believed that the Taliban was unaware of Mullah Baradar's capture and that if the news became public "they might cover their tracks and become more careful about communicating with each other".

However, as the initial euphoria of the high-profile arrest settles down, there is a apparent sense of frustration that is overtaking US investigators involved in interrogating Mullah Baradar. This frustration has led to efforts by the US established to seek transfer of Mullah Baradar to a US prison in Bagram, Afghanistan.

It is know that the US investigators from the CIA have not been granted direct access to question Baradar. For the past weeks since his arrest, the CIA has only been able to question Baradar through Pakitani interrogators who are known to have managed to thwart their attempt at direct access.