ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Interior Ministry has denied reports that a delegation of Afghan officials met with a former deputy leader of the Taliban imprisoned in Pakistan.    

An Interior Ministry statement released Monday called the reports ''absolutely baseless and ill motivated.''

An official with the Afghan High Peace Council, Ismail Qasemyar, said Sunday that members of the Afghan Embassy in Pakistan met with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, but declined to give further details.

A Pakistani intelligence official confirmed the meeting. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

Despite the Pakistani denial, it's still unclear whether there has been any contact between the Afghan government and Baradar.'' Baradar was captured in Pakistan in 2010.