Taliban former leader detained in United Arab Emirates  

Reliable sources said Abdul Rahman Zahid, head of the Afghanistan Bank and deputy foreign minister during the Taliban regime, was taken into custody on his arrival at the Dubai International Airport last month.

The Taliban leader was taken to an unknown location by UAE security officials, the sources said, adding Zahid was cooperating with the Taliban’s Qatar office with coordination between Taliban’s political leaders and other members in Pakistan.

Hailing from the Kharwar district of central Logar province, Zahid has no active role in Taliban’s ongoing insurgency, but supported the anti-Mullah Akhtar Mansour faction.

He is the media commission head of a Taliban group. Zahid is said to have national and international links and held meeting with important personalities in the UAE recently.

Source in the UAE government have informed the Taliban movement that Zahid might have conducted meetings without prior permission from the UAE government.

But another official, who wished to go unnamed, said Zahid had increased interaction with the Afghan government and his arrest might be a joint effort of the spy networks of the UAE and Pakistan.

Meanwhile, another source said Zahid had been detained by a security organ of the UAE. However, he did not give further details in this regard.