Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the arrest of an Islamic State member in Pakistan was carried out based on intelligence provided by the Taliban, describing the group as a “sinister phenomenon” whose safe havens must be dismantled.
Mujahid made the remarks on Wednesday after reports that a Turkish member of Islamic State had been detained near the Afghanistan–Pakistan border. He said such arrests were the result of information shared by the Taliban.
In an audio message to the media, Mujahid said the Taliban had long been aware of the presence of Islamic State members in Pakistan and had previously made this information public. He added that “the nurturing of ISIS must come to an end” and that the group’s safe havens should not be used against any country.
On Monday, Turkiye’s National Intelligence Organization announced it had arrested a senior Islamic State member in an area along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Turkiye’s state-run Anadolu Agency reported that the detainee, identified as Yahya, was a senior member of the Islamic State’s Khorasan branch, known as ISIS-K.
Turkish intelligence said the suspect was captured in a covert cross-border operation and later transferred to Turkiye. Turkish officials have not said whether the Taliban cooperated in the arrest or disclosed when the detention took place.
