Gates says Pakistani arrests of Taliban figures marks ‘real progress’

Gates says Taliban arrests mark progress

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates says recent arrests of high-level Taliban fighters by Pakistan marks “real progress” by the Islamabad government and “another positive indication” of its commitment to stabilizing its border with Afghanistan.

Earlier this month, Pakistani authorities had arrested the No. 2 Afghan Taliban leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi. Also arrested are a pair of Taliban “shadow governors” from two Afghan provinces and several other militant suspects linked to al-Qaida and the Taliban.

Gates told reporters at the Pentagon that “what we are seeing is the importance of operations on both sides of the border.”