The Taliban's former defence minister died in a Pakistani jail in 2010, a spokesman for the insurgent group has said.

Little had been heard of Obaidullah Akhund since he was arrested by authorities in Pakistan in 2007

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said relatives have recently been informed that Obaidullah died of heart disease in a Karachi prison on March 5 that year.

Obaidullah was one of the top deputies of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar when the Islamist regime ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s.

He was arrested in early 2007 in the south-western Pakistani city of Quetta. At the time, he was the highest-ranking Taliban figure to be captured since the fall of the regime in 2001.

The Taliban said they want officials in Pakistan to provide details about Obaidullah's arrest, incarceration and death.

Obaidullah's name was among those floated earlier this year as representatives for potential peace talks between Nato and the insurgent group.