QUETTA: Security forces apprehended four Afghan Taliban near Zhob district of Balochistan on Sunday.

A security official who requested anonymity told Dawn that the forces arrested the Afghan Taliban along the Zhob Dera Ismail Khan road. The Afghan Taliban, who were found to be injured, were apparently moving to Peshawar for medical treatment when their vehicle was intercepted by law enforcement agencies.

The forces shifted the apprehended Taliban for interrogation to an undisclosed location. They were later handed over to police and a case was registered against them. The condition of the injured Taliban was yet to be ascertained, the security official said.

The Taliban were identified as Mohammad Bashir, Maulana Noor-ul-Haq, Maulavi Maqbool and Mohammad Ismail.

Zhob's borders extend along both Pakistan's tribal belt and neighbouring Afghanistan. In 2007, a top Pakistani Taliban commander Abdullah Mehsud was killed in security forces' operation Zhob.

Security was tightened in and around Zhob as operation Zarb-i-Azb was launched by armed forces in the volatile North Waziristan tribal region to stop the flow of insurgents into the bordering town of Balochistan province.