Push for Afghan peace: Mullah Baradar may be freed this month

Sartaj Aziz says former Taliban chief strategist not to be handed over to Afghanistan; Kabul pleased by the decision.

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan has decided to release Afghan Taliban’s former second-in-command Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar to help kick-start the stalled peace and reconciliation process in neighbouring Afghanistan.

The administration of President Hamid Karzai has long pressed Islamabad to free Mullah Baradar who they believe could encourage the moderate elements in the ultraorthodox militia to come to the negotiating table.

“In principle, we have agreed to release him. The timing is being discussed. It should be very soon ... I think within this month,” Sartaj Aziz, the prime minister’s adviser on national security and foreign affairs, told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday.

However, he added that Mullah Baradar would not be handed over to the Afghan authorities as some in Kabul had hoped, and would be instead released straight into Pakistan.

Mullah Baradar is one of the four founding members of the Taliban movement, and is believed to be one of the most trusted lieutenants of the elusive Taliban spiritual leader Mullah Omar who gave him his nom de guerre, ‘Baradar’ or ‘brother’.

According to Interpol, Mullah Baradar had been a member of the Taliban’s so-called Quetta Shura since May 2007. At the time of his arrest, Baradar was reported to have been second or third-in-command of the Quetta Shura. He was also engaged in secret peace talks with the Afghan government and had reportedly met President Hamid Karzai.



A senior Pakistani official told The Express Tribune that Mullah Baradar’s possible release was the result of months of painstaking discussions among Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States.

Although in principle the decision has been taken to free Mullah Baradar, modalities were being worked out on how he could be used to revive a fledgling peace process.

One of the options on the table is to transfer Mullah Baradar to Saudi Arabia or Turkey where he could lead discussions with the Karzai administration as well as the US.

Last week, Pakistan released another batch of seven Taliban prisoners at the request of Afghan government but the list did not include Mullah Baradar.

Sources told The Express Tribune that Pakistan conveyed its decision to free Mullah Baradar to Afghanistan during last month’s visit of President Karzai to Islamabad. However, Karzai’s request for a meeting with Mullah Baradar was politely turned down, sources added.

Afghanistan welcomed the move but urged Pakistan to keep a close eye on his moments. “Pakistan’s position is not to release him to Afghanistan and to keep him Pakistan,” said Karzai’s spokesman Aimal Faizi.  “But our position is that Mullah Baradar must be accessible, secure, with a known address and he must be in the service of the Afghan peace process.”

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters: “We hope that his imprisonment is over”.

Experts believe Mullah Baradar’s release may give a fresh impetus to efforts seeking a peace deal with Afghan Taliban before the US-led forces leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

“His release will certainly create goodwill for Pakistan and help remove mistrust between Pakistan and Afghanistan,” said defence analyst Lt Gen (retd) Talat Masood.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 11^th, 2013.