Taliban chief 'captured doing secret deal'

The Taliban’s deputy leader was holding secret talks with the Afghan government when he was captured in Pakistan, and his arrest infuriated President Hamid Karzai, it emerged today.

The detention of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar – second in the Taliban only to one-eyed Mullah Mohammed Omar – has raised new questions about whether the US is willing to back peace discussions with leaders who harboured the terrorists behind the September 11 attacks.