The Pakistani authorities say they have captured a top spokesman for the Taliban movement based in the north-west of the country. Mauvi Umar was detained in a village in the Mohmand tribal region last night along with two associates. Local tribal elders apparently helped in the operation. Umar was an official spokesman for Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, an umbrella organisation for various militant movements based near the Afghan border. The group's leader, Baitullah Mehsud, was killed in a US missile strike earlier this month.