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Afghan gov’t refuses to release “dangerous” Taliban prisoners
The Afghan government has refused to release the Taliban prisoners who are accused of involvement in deadly attacks, a released demand by the Taliban as a pre-condition to starting the intra-Afghan negotiations, Reuters reported citing five sources.
Based on five European, Asian and Afghan officials Reuters reported that the Afghan government had opposed the release of hundreds of Taliban prisoners and now western powers are backing the government’s refusal.
These prisoners are accused of involvement in large-scale terrorist attacks including the 2017 car bomb attack at the Zanbaq square, the report said.
Meanwhile, the NATO Secretary-General said that the release of prisoners is a part of the US-Taliban agreement and a precondition for the start of negotiations, and NATO expects progress to be made in this area.”
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said: “One part of this agreement, the US-Taliban agreement is… the release of prisoners on both sides. That’s part of the agreement. That’s the way to create the conditions for intra-Afghan negotiations. And I’m absolutely certain that the only way to reach a political, sustainable, peaceful solution to the conflict in Afghanistan is to have an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned process. Therefore, intra-Afghan negotiations are so important.”
Meanwhile, the Taliban has set the release of the remaining 2,000 prisoners as a precondition for the start of intra-Afghan talks.
“It will certainly not be possible to start Intra-Afghan talks in Afghanistan unless 2,000 prisoners are released from prison,” said Jalaluddin Shinwari, the Taliban’s attorney general.
Hurdles on the way of prisoner release are said to be unsolved. Reuters has said that if the obstacles to the release of prisoners are removed, the ground will be prepared for the start of negotiations.
The Office of the National Security Council says that the release of Taliban prisoners is based on the President’s decree, taking into account the age, health status, and time of detention and that prisoners are not subject to the release process under any other circumstances.
So far, more than 3,000 Taliban prisoners have been released. In the new phase, hundreds of other Taliban prisoners were released in the following days. Intra-Afghan Talks are said to begin by the end of this month, with the release of 5,000 prisoners.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has nominated Bangladeshi diplomat Rabab Fatima as his Special Representative for Afghanistan and submitted her nomination to the UN Security Council, sources told Ariana News on Thursday.
According to the sources, the Security Council is expected to decide on her appointment.
If approved, Fatima would succeed Roza Otunbayeva whose tenure ended in September last year.
Fatima is a veteran Bangladeshi diplomat who has served as the UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States since 2022.
She previously served as Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York and as the country’s ambassador to Japan. During her diplomatic career, she has also held senior positions at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Commonwealth Secretariat, focusing on migration, human rights and international development.
The United Nations has not yet officially announced the nomination.
Afghanistan’s Interior Minister, Khalifa Sirajuddin Haqqani, met on Wednesday with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Barham Salih, UNHCR’s representative in Afghanistan, Arafat Jamal, and their accompanying delegation.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Interior, Barham Salih reaffirmed UNHCR’s commitment to continuing its support in addressing the challenges facing refugees, assisting returning Afghans, and delivering humanitarian aid.
Haqqani welcomed the UNHCR leadership’s visit to Afghanistan and expressed appreciation for the agency’s efforts and cooperation in supporting refugees and Afghan returnees.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, met on Wednesday with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
During the meeting, the two sides discussed the situation of Afghan refugees, humanitarian and development assistance for returnees, and future cooperation to support the people of Afghanistan.
According to a statement from the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office, Baradar thanked the United Nations and international organizations for providing humanitarian assistance to Afghan refugees.
He stressed that the United Nations and international organizations should allocate a greater share of their assistance to development projects in order to provide returnees and internally displaced people with shelter, schools, electricity, safe drinking water, healthcare services, employment opportunities, and other essential services.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees praised the Islamic Emirate’s development efforts and assured Baradar that efforts would continue to mobilize greater international assistance for Afghanistan to help improve the living conditions of its people.
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