Agha Jan Mutasim back in Kabul

He was put under house arrest by UAE authorities earlier this month.

ISLAMABAD:

Dissident Afghan Taliban leader Mutasim Agha Jan, who was put under house arrest by UAE authorities this month following his talks with Afghan negotiators in Dubai, has arrived in Kabul after President Hamid Karzai intervened to secure his release, a former Taliban leader said Sunday.

Talking to The Express Tribune from Kabul, the Taliban leader, who is privy to the development, said Agha Jan reached the Afghan capital on Saturday evening. Officials have avoided officially confirming the Taliban dissident’s arrival in Kabul due to security concerns.

Agha Jan’s friends in Dubai and sources in his family had earlier said he was picked up by UAE authorities. The Afghan government later confirmed Agha Jan was put under house arrest.

Afghan officials said President Karzai, who had welcomed Agha Jan’s initiative, had contacted the UAE and had asked for his release. The presidential palace, in an angry reaction, described the Taliban dissident’s detention as a step to foil peace efforts in Afghanistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 21^st, 2014.