Updated on Sunday, March 11, 2007, 00:00 IST

Geneva, March 11: A Swiss newspaper claimed on Sunday that the Taliban's former Defense Minister was free two days after his reported capture by Pakistani security forces.

The Swiss weekly Sonntagsblick said one of its reporters spoke to Mullah Obaidullah Akhund on February 28 unhindered in an Islamic School in the southwestern city of Quetta.

Akhund, considered a key ally of fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Omar, was the most senior leader from the hard-line militia to be reported arrested since US-led troops ousted it from power in 2001.

Several Pakistani intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said earlier this month that he was among five Taliban suspects arrested on February 26 in a raid on a Quetta home. However, Pakistani government officials at that time did not confirm any arrest publicly, and one senior interior ministry official who handles counterterrorism issues denied a top Taliban figure was captured.

Pakistani officials could not be reached for comment late today on the Swiss newspaper's claim.

Bureau Report