ISI moved Taliban chief to safe zone

Fearing that Taliban supremo Mullah Omar might be targeted by US drones, Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) has helped him flee from the border town of Quetta to the mega port city of Karachi, said media reports.

Fearing that Taliban supremo Mullah Omar might be targeted by US drones, Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) has helped him flee from the border town of Quetta to the mega port city of Karachi, said media reports.

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“Mullah Omar travelled to Karachi last month, a city that so far has escaped US and Pakistani counter-terrorism campaigns,” the Washington Times quoted US intelligence officials as saying.

“The development reinforces suspicions that the ISI is working against US interests in Afghanistan,” the daily said.

Bruce Riedel, a CIA veteran confirmed Mullah Omar was spotted in Karachi recently, the daily said.

Pakistan, however, dismissed the report. “This is ridiculous,” Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said, adding there is “is simply no truth” in the assertion that Omar is in Pakistan.

“According to our information, the head of the Taliban in Afghanistan should be in Afghanistan. If someone knows about his whereabouts, it would be far better if that information is shared with us rather than speculating through the media,” Basit said.