Freed Taliban prisoners could return to battlefield: AIHRC
Concerned about the release of thousands of Taliban prisoners, the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) says that there is no guarantee that these fighters would not return to the battlefield.
Thousands of Taliban prisoners, when released, put their finger on a document and sign it so that they would not return to the battlefield again. However, this guarantee is not enough for the Afghan Human Rights Commission. The head of the commission considers the guarantees obtained from these prisoners to be very weak.
“There is no guarantee that these prisoners will not return to the battlefield,” said Shahzad Akbar, head of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission.
But the distance from prison to the battlefield is seen to have been short for Taliban detainees.
According to security officials, Qari Rohullah, one of the released Taliban prisoners who had returned to war after his release from prison, was wounded in a clash with security forces on the Kabul-Jalalabad highway, with more than a dozen of his subordinates being killed.
“Qari Rohullah was the one who was recently released from our prison,” said Ghulam Haidar Rahmanzai, Laghman’s national security chief.
But a Taliban spokesman called the reports of the return of those released on the battlefield baseless and an excuse for the release of the remaining prisoners of the group.
“This is the reason why the security forces do not believe in the release of the Taliban prisoners,” said Manzour Stanekzai, Laghman’s security commander.
The release of five thousand Taliban prisoners is one of the main conditions for the start of negotiations between the Afghans. Human rights organizations have called the release of these Taliban fighters without strong guarantees, dangerous. But the Taliban have repeatedly insisted on their commitment to the peace deal with the United States.
Officials from the Kandahar Chamber of Commerce and Investment say that 294,000 tons of fresh and dried fruit have been exported from the province to foreign countries over the past year.
According to them, the total value of these exports amounts to $519 million.
Abdulbaqi Bina, Deputy Head of the Kandahar Chamber of Commerce and Investment, says the products were exported to India, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Canada and several other countries.
Meanwhile, fresh and dried fruit traders are calling on the government to provide alternative transit routes, new markets, and greater facilitation for obtaining visas and transportation for the export of these products.
This comes as nearly 59,000 tons of fresh and dried fruit were exported from Kandahar to foreign countries
The case of 87 Afghan students seeking extensions of their study visas has reached the Islamabad High Court, with the students also asking for protection from arrest, detention and deportation, Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper reported.
According to Pakistani journalist Tahir Khan, the students have petitioned the court to order the government to extend their visas and prevent law-enforcement agencies from harassing, arresting, detaining or deporting them solely because their previous study visas have expired.
During Friday’s hearing, lawyer Aimal Khan Mandokhel told the court that Pakistan’s Interior Ministry had issued study visas to the Afghan students about a year ago. However, the students say authorities have since stopped extending existing visas and issuing new ones.
The Afghan Students Union at the International Islamic University Islamabad has also said Pakistani authorities have suspended study visa extensions for Afghan students for an extended period. It added that several students have allegedly been arrested and deported in recent months.
The hearing was adjourned following an exchange between Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro and lawyer Aimal Khan Mandokhel.
The case is expected to be heard again later this month.
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