MUZAFFARABAD, Nov 22: Mushtaq Zargar, supreme commander of the pro-Pakistan Al Omar Mujahideen group, was arrested in Islamabad after he was invited there for some talks on Thursday, a spokesman for his group said here on Friday.

The spokesman, Khalid Mumtaz, told Dawn by telephone on late Friday that Mr Zargar, commonly known in Kashmir as Mushtaq Latram, had gone to Islamabad on the invitation of the Pakistani authorities on Thursday evening and was missing since then.

“Today, it has been confirmed that he has been arrested,” the spokesman said, without identifying the authorities.

Thirty-six year old Zargar was among three people who were released by the Indian government on Dec 31, 1999 in exchange for the 155 passengers of a hijacked Indian airliner. The other two included Maulana Masood Azhar and Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh.

After release from India, Zargar arrived in Muzaffarabad and was accorded a arousing welcome by his supporters. However, his group announced that he had moved to the held Valley.