Afghan peace process: Pakistan may release more Taliban prisoners

List of prisoners to be released will be finalised during Karzai’s visit.

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan may release another batch of Afghan Taliban detainees at the request of the Hamid Karzai administration in a new push to revive a nascent peace process in Afghanistan, officials said on Sunday.

A government official confirmed to The Express Tribune that the release of more Taliban prisoners would be on the agenda of talks during the upcoming visit of President Karzai to Pakistan. The official requested not to be named in the report because he is not authorised to speak to the media on the subject.

While the names and the exact number of prisoners expected to be freed was not disclosed, official sources said the list is expected to be finalised during talks between President Karzai and Pakistani authorities.

Karzai is set to travel to Islamabad later this month, the first such visit since the change of government in Pakistan following the May 11 parliamentary elections. He is expected to be accompanied by members of Afghan High Peace Council mandated to find ways for holding direct talks with the Taliban.



Pakistan first started releasing Taliban prisoners in November last year as part of its efforts to jumpstart the Afghan reconciliation process. As many as 26 Taliban prisoners, including some senior figures, have been released since then. However, Pakistan unofficially suspended further releases in the wake of strained ties with Afghanistan.

It is believed that some of the freed Taliban commanders were instrumental in bringing insurgents to the negotiating table and led to the opening of the Taliban office in Doha – currently shut down due to differences among key stakeholders in Afghanistan.

Kabul has long been seeking the release of all Taliban prisoners, including the former operational commander of the insurgent group Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.

When contacted, foreign ministry spokesperson Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry said Pakistan would extend “all assistance that we deem is helpful to advance the reconciliation process”.

“We look forward to the visit of the Afghan president and are ready to discuss all issues of mutual interests during the visit,” Chaudhry said when asked whether the issue of Taliban prisoner release would be on the agenda during Karzai’s visit.

Diplomatic sources said the two neighbours are also likely to discuss modalities for shifting the Taliban political office from Qatar to either Saudi Arabia or Turkey during Karzai’s visit. The idea to relocate the Taliban office from Doha was believed to be floated by Pakistan and the US to break the deadlock in talks.

Last week, Kabul officially confirmed that it would support the move to shift the Taliban office from Qatar.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 19^th, 2013.