Pakistan arrests 2 officers for helping Afghan Taliban chief get ID card

Pakistan said on Saturday that two officers have been arrested for helping the Afghan Taliban chief, Mullah Akhtar Mansour, get fake Pakistani identity card and Pakistani citizenship for his second wife and children.

Mansour, who had been living in Pakistan as Wali Muhammad, was killed in a U.S. drone strike in southwestern Balochistan province on May 21.

A Pakistani computerized identity card and a passport were found at the site identifying the victim as Wali Muhammad, a resident of the port city of Karachi.

The Interior Ministry spokesman said that an accused, Aziz Ahmad, who was working as Major in the Levies force in Baluchistan, had verified the Pakistani ID card form for Wali Muhammad in 2001.

He said that the other one was Rifat Iqbal, an officer of the country's National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), who had helped grant Pakistani citizenship to Wali Muhammad's second wife and children.

Iqbal was working at the NADRA Karachi office but had gone into hiding since the U.S. drone killed the Taliban chief in Naushki district on May 21, he said.

The Interior Ministry said that the chasing of those who have helped issue Pakistani identity card to Taliban Chief continues.

The authorities had earlier arrested another officer, Rafiq Tarin, for verification of Wali Muhammad's ID card.

Hafiz Tahir, who had been performing duties as Deputy Commissioner in the border town of Chaman in Balochistan, has been summoned for questioning for his role in verification, the Interior Ministry said.

The ID card details show that Wali Muhammad was previously living in Chaman area of Killa Abdullah district. Later he shifted to Karachi, where he had also bought a residential flat.

Source: XINHUA