Pakistan freezes accounts of suspected Taliban firms

Agents of the country's Federal Investigation Agency raided offices of the firms on Tuesday in the northwestern city of Peshawar after requests from Interpol and the Afghan government, the officials said.

"We seized documents during the raid which show the firms were transferring money to the Taliban," one of the officials told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"We have frozen 15 bank accounts of the firms in Peshawar and Islamabad," he added.

The official said no one from the firms had been arrested but a customs clearing agent who dealt with the companies had been detained.

Another security official said the firms, which deal in edible oil, sugar and other food items, are owned by an Afghan family from the southern province of Kandahar with which the Taliban's reclusive leader Mullah Mohammad Omar had close ties.