Reconciliation process: Three Afghan Taliban leaders set free

The number of freed Taliban cadres is now 50.

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan has set free three more senior Afghan Taliban leaders, taking the number of freed Taliban leaders to 50, official and Taliban sources confirmed late on Tuesday.

“Three more Afghan Taliban leaders have been released,” an official source told The Express Tribune on condition of anonymity. “This is an ongoing process as part of the efforts to facilitate reconciliation.”

The freed Taliban leaders were identified as Mullah Abdul Ahad Jahangirwal, former adviser to Mullah Omar; Mullah Abdul Manan, former governor of Helmand province and Mullah Younus, a former military commander.

A Taliban official confirmed that three of their senior men have been freed. “They have already rejoined their families,” the official said requesting not to be identified.



The release came just few days after the government-backed peace negotiators visited Pakistan to meet the senior Taliban leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. “These are very important personalities,” the Taliban official said when asked about the position of the freed figures.

Pakistan has also freed ten low-profile Taliban detainees over the past few weeks, Afghan Taliban say. The number of freed Afghan Taliban leaders since November now reached 50.

In September, Pakistan announced the release of Mullah Baradar however the Taliban and sources close to his family insist Baradar has not yet been allowed to rejoin his family. Sources however say that Baradar frequently contacts family members over the phone.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 27^th, 2013.