‘Secretly located’ Taliban official denies revealing whereabouts after Twitter gaffe tags him in Pakistan

Zabihullah claims tagging was ‘enemy plot’, tweets that his real location is Afghanistan

‘Secretly located’ Taliban official Zabihullah Mujahid denies revealing whereabouts after Twitter gaffe tags him Pakistan (Twitter )

A senior Taliban official has denied he is in Pakistan after a Twitter gaffe saw his location tagged as "Sindh, Pakistan".

Zabihullah Mujahid, whose location is supposed to be secret, has instead said on Twitter that the tagging of Pakistan as a location was an “enemy plot,” insisting he was in Afghanistan, according to the BBC.

The gaffe has added significance as Pakistan has been accused on many occasions of having secret links with the Taliban, which the country’s government denies.

After his followers alerted Mr Mujahid of the location tag, he tweeted: “My Twitter account has been manipulated – as part of weak efforts of enemy plot, it showed that I am based in Sindh of Pakistan, I call this attempt as fake and shame [sic].”

“Now the enemy’s fake act has been exposed, and with full confidence, I can say that I am in my own country.”

Twitter said its geolocation data is based on latitude and longitude data, or other information that is provided by users at the time that they post their message.

The social media platform even includes a warning in its explanation of the geolocation function, stating: “Remember, once you post something online, it’s out there for others to see.”

Additional reporting by AP