Pakistan has detained a senior Afghan Taliban member in an attempt to put pressure on the militants amid talks with the US, sources in the group say.
Hafez Mohibullah, religious affairs minister when the Taliban ran Afghanistan before 2001, was held in Peshawar, the sources told the BBC.
The US has repeatedly called on Pakistan to end “safe havens” for the Taliban on its soil.
Pakistan denies backing the group to retain influence in Afghanistan.
The reported detention of Hafez Mohibullah comes ahead of a visit to Pakistan by US special representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, who has held a series of meetings with the Taliban's political office in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
The US wants Pakistan to encourage the militants to reach a settlement in Afghanistan and bring the 17-year conflict to a close.
There was no immediate response from authorities in Pakistan.
Taliban sources say Hafez Mohibullah had been living in the city for a number of years.
Two high-ranking Taliban figures, talking on condition of anonymity,…
