A former Taleban commander has surrendered to the Afghan government, one of the most high-profile figures to do so since the regime was toppled more than three years ago, officials said yesterday. Three mid-level Taleban commanders have also been arrested without a fight in an operation by US and Afghan troops in central Afghanistan, officials said. Ex-commander Abdul Waheed handed himself over to the authorities in southeastern Helmand province to take advantage of a planned amnesty announced by Kabul early this year, provincial intelligence chief Dad Mohammad Khan said. US-backed President Hamid Karzai's administration has been in talks with a number of former Taleban leaders in recent months but has not announced the final details of the amnesty scheme. Waheed has now moved to the Afghan capital Kabul where he is expected to meet Karzai. "He was a key Taleban commander. His surrender will help bring other Taleban in," Khan told AFP by telephone.