Special operatives of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) have arrested Mohammad, also known as Haji Lala, the Taliban’s military chief for five provinces and the group’s shadow governor for Kabul, said a statement issued by the NDS on Saturday, January 30.
Mohammad, a key member of Taliban’s core body, was serving as military chief for Maidan Wardak, Nangarhar, Logar, Parwan, and the capital Kabul, according to the statement.
He was in charge of targeted killings and assassination in above-listed provinces, the NDS said.
After his trip to Pakistan, as the NDS said, Mohammad was appointed as the Taliban’s acting shadow governor for Kabul.
The Taliban, however, have not commented regarding the arrest of their top commander.
Afghanistan, particularly the capital Kabul, has seen a dramatic increase in targeted killing which have so far left dozens killed and wounded, including journalists, government employees, and civil society activists.
Most of these incidents went unclaimed and some were even denied by the Taliban.
The government, meanwhile, have repeatedly accused the Taliban for the recent waves of violence, implying that the militant group have taken a strategy of “kill and deny” since they struck a peace deal with the United States in late February 2020.
