Pakistan arrests Afghan security official, 3 others

QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) – Pakistani security forces have
arrested four Afghan nationals, including an intelligence
official, for entering the country without valid travel
documents, officials said on Wednesday

The men were arrested on Tuesday with two Pakistanis during
a visit to an Afghan refugee camp near the town of Loralai in
southwestern province of Baluchistan.

Those arrested were believed to include an intelligence
officer and two politicians from Afghanistan’s southern Zabul
province, according to officials.

The arrests come amid deteriorating relations between
Pakistan and Afghanistan, two key allies of the United States
in its global war on terrorism.

The neighbors became embroiled in a war of words in late
February.

Afghan officials complain that the Taliban militants
organize and launch attacks inside Afghanistan from the safety
of Pakistan’s lawless tribal areas.

While Pakistan says it is doing its best to stem the flow
of militants, it says weapons and arms were being smuggled from
Afghanistan for Baluch militants fighting for more regional
autonomy.