ISI helped Taliban Supremo Mullah Omar to Flee From Quetta to Karachi

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Source: DNA Read the World

Washington: Fearing that Taliban supremo Mullah Omar might be targetted by US drones, Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) has helped him to flee from the border town of Quetta to the mega port city of Karachi, where he has established a new Shura council.

One-eyed leader of the Afghan Taliban recently found refuge from potential US attacks in Karachi with Pakistan's ISI assistance, The Washington Times reported quoting US intelligence officials.

"Mullah Omar travelled to Karachi last month after the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.He inaugurated a new senior leadership council in Karachi, a city that so far has escaped US and Pakistani counter-terrorism campaigns," the officials said.

The paper said the ISI helped Mullah Omar move from Quetta, where they felt he was exposed to attacks by unmanned US drones.

"The development reinforces suspicions that the ISI, which helped create the Taliban in the 1990s to expand Pakistani influence in Afghanistan, is working against US interests in Afghanistan as the Obama administration prepares to send more US troops to fight there," the daily said.

Bruce Riedel, a CIA veteran and analyst on al Qaeda and the Taliban, confirmed that Mullah Omar had been spotted in Karachi recently, the daily said.

"Some sources claim the ISI decided to move him further from the battlefield to keep him safe" from US drone attacks,Riedel was quoted as saying.

more: http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_isi-helped-taliban-supremo-mullah-omar-to-flee-from-quetta-to-karachi_1314265

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1. Pak denies Afghan Taliban chief is in Karachi

Islamabad, Nov 20 (PTI) Pakistan today dismissed a report that Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Omar had fled from Quetta to Karachi with the help of ISI to avoid the possibility of being targeted by US drones.

"This is ridiculous to say the least," Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit told reporters. He said there had been speculation about Omar's presence in Pakistan "for years".

"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.

He said there "is simply no truth" in the assertion that Omar is in Pakistan.

Two senior US intelligence officials and a former CIA officer had been quoted by The Washington Times as saying that Omar travelled to Karachi last month after the end of the holy month of Ramzan.

http://www.ptinews.com/news/386948_Pak-denies-Afghan-Taliban-chief-is-in-Karachi