ISLAMABAD, Jan 26: A close aide to elusive Taliban spiritual leader Mulla Mohammad Omar was arrested in Chaman a town near the Afghan border. Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat said the man arrested near the border town of Chaman, some 470km southwest of Islamabad , was Abdul Mannan Khawajazai, a former provincial governor during Taliban rule in Afghanistan from 1996-2001.

"Authorities have arrested (Khawajazai) in routine border patrols to check illegal crossings some three to four days ago," the minister told AFP. "He was being questioned by Pakistani investigation agencies," Mr Hayat said and added that the arrested Taliban leader would not be extradited to Afghanistan as it did not have an extradition treaty with Pakistan.

Afghanistan blames Taliban sheltering along its rugged border with Pakistan for launching attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. Mullah Omar, wanted by the US along with Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, went into hiding after deserting his headquarters in the southern Afghanistan city of Kandahar in December 2001 when the Taliban surrendered to US-led forces. Pakistan, a key US ally in the global war against terrorism, has arrested some 500 Taliban and Al Qaeda fugitives since late 2001.