After initial denials, government confirms release of TTP prisoners

Ministry of Interior confirms that 19 'non-combatants' were released over seven days.

ISLAMABAD: The release of Taliban detainees in the peace process is a contentious issue – and the government’s embarrassing mix-up on the matter showcased just how sensitive it is as the ministry of interior confirmed late on Thursday that 19 ‘non-combatants’ had been released.

The government seemed in a disarray on Thursday responding to leaked news of the release of 16 ‘non-combatant’ prisoners of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in South Wazirstan Agency.

After the Prime Minister Office initially denied in a statement that the 16 men being released did not have anything to do with the TTP, the ministry of interior later confirmed that the release of 19 ‘non-combatant’ TTP detainees belonging to the Mehsud Tribe had indeed taken place.

The release of “non-combatant” detainees, as demanded by the TTP, has been a contentious issue from the outset – with some officials having earlier denied that security forces were even holding any non-combatants.

The release of prisoners, meant to inject fresh impetus into the peace talks, was initially reported late on Wednesday night. However, by Thursday afternoon, the government, through a statement from the Prime Minister House, issued a rebuttal.

“It is clarified that there has been no authorisation given from the Prime Minister in this regard (release of prisoners),” said a spokesperson of the PM House in a strongly worded statement to the reports. “Moreover, it is clarified that the release of some prisoners involved in petty crimes by the Political Administration has been wrongly connoted as release of Taliban prisoner,” it added.

However, hours later, the rebuttal was contradicted by the Interior Ministry when a spate of unofficial messages were forwarded to media houses requesting that the information of the released detainees be carried – and even provided a breakdown of the release by date.

However, there were inconsistencies even within these messages. After initially placing the number of “non-combatant Taliban prisoners belonging to the Mehsud tribe” at 16, a breakdown of the date of release put the total figure at 19 – three released on March 21, five released on March 25 and 11 on March 28.

One official, commenting on the mix up, blamed a communication breakdown.

But the matter seems to suggest a larger covertness gone wrong. Aside from the conflicting numbers and contradicting statement, even Taliban intermediaries remained tightlipped over the issue – which further caused confusion on the matter.

“We do not have first-hand information,” Professor Muhammad Ibrahim told The Express Tribune in response to a question whether the government had released 16 prisoners from the list they had given.  “We have learnt about this development through the media,” he added – suggesting an unlikely, or bizarre, scenario wherein the TTP intermediaries would not have known about the release of the detainees for days when it was the intermediaries who had taken up the issue of release of non-combatants with the government and had been pressing them to move on the issue.

Responding to a question about the next meeting with the government, Ibrahim said “we are expecting to a have a meeting in next couple of days.” He, however, did not give a date for the meeting.

The TTP are said to have shared with government negotiators a list of Taliban ‘non-combatants’ – mostly women, children and elderly – who they claim are in the custody of the security forces. The government has also called for the release of some high-profile figures held hostage by the Taliban.