August 07, 2008	Thursday	Sha’aban 4, 1429

KABUL, Aug 6: Afghanistan’s spy agency alleged on Wednesday that a member of Pakistan’s consulate in the country’s south helped a Taliban commander in his attempts to weaken the government.

The National Directorate of Security said in a statement that a diplomat at the consulate in Kandahar gave “orders and money” to Mullah Rahmatullah, a Taliban militant in the region.

Rahmatullah was captured by Afghan intelligence agents on Tuesday in Kandahar city, and the information linking the official with the militants was gleaned during the questioning, the NDS said in a statement, which did not name the diplomat.

Rahmatullah was responsible for kidnappings of influential elders in the province, extortion, “guerilla attacks and some other terrorist activities,” the statement said.

“Mullah Rahmatullah tried to show that the (Afghan) government is weak in Kandahar,” the statement said.

“After the arrest, Mullah Rahmatullah confessed to his crimes and said he received orders and money for all terrorist activities and for the kidnappings from one of the members of Pakistan’s consulate in Kandahar,” the statement said.

—AP