ISLAMANAD - Pakistan has decided, in principle, to release Abdul Ghani Baradar, a most senior Afghan Taliban and former deputy leader, a senior official in Islamabad said on Tuesday.

Pakistan is holding Baradar since 2010 when he was arrested in the southern port city of Karachi during a joint raid by Pakistan’s intelligence agency, ’ISI and CIA personnel.

Sartaj Aziz, the national security advisor, said Islamabad could release him as this month to jumpstart the struggling peace process.

The Afghan government has long demanded that Pakistan release Baradar, but Aziz said Baradar would not be handed over directly to the government in Afghanistan. "He is likely to be released this month," he said to a foreign news agency. "He will not be handed over to Afghanistan."

Already 33 Afghan Taliban detainees have been released in Pakistan last year, including the militants' former justice minister Nooruddin Turabi.

President Hamid Karzai, who lasted month visited Pakistan, sought Islamabad’s help in arranging talks with the Taliban and asked for the release of detained leaders of the movement. (Pajhwok)