PAKISTAN: Pakistan arrests 14 suspected Taliban rebels, including wounded fighters seized in hospital.

Pakistan has arrested 14 suspected Taliban rebels, including six wounded fighters who were being treated in a hospital in the southwestern city of Quetta, police said on Wednesday (September 13). The arrested suspects were under investigation at a police station in Quetta. Frequently praised by the United States for helping fight the al Qaeda network, Pakistan has become increasingly sensitive to criticism that it is soft on the Taliban. With President Pervez Musharraf due to visit the United States this month, Pakistan is keen to avoid a repetition of the embarrassing row that broke out during Bush's visit to Pakistan in March over Afghan accusations that the Pakistanis were not doing enough to curb the insurgency. Conversely, in an interaction with European Parliament members on Tuesday, he had warned the West that Taliban insurgents were a more dangerous and potent force than al Qaeda because of broad support they have in Afghanistan. The ferocity of a Taliban offensive in southern Afghanistan has surprised NATO commanders who recently took over responsibility for security in the region from U.S. forces in July.

ITN Source | September 15, 2006

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