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Six ‘high risk’ Taliban prisoners fly out of Kabul for Doha
Six ‘hardcore’ Taliban prisoners left Kabul on Thursday evening onboard a flight to Doha, government officials told Reuters.
One official said the six will remain in Qatar under supervision at least until November when they might be transferred back to Kabul.
These six Taliban prisoners – the last of 5,000 to be freed – are considered “high risk” after masterminding some of the worst attacks in Afghanistan, killing foreign nationals and known drug kingpins.
President Ashraf Ghani has until now hesitated to release these prisoners, especially after France, Australia and the US objected as some were responsible for the deaths of their nationals.
However, the delay in releasing these prisoners has been a stumbling block in the way of starting peace talks – which are scheduled to be held in Doha, where the Taliban has a political office.
No further details were given on the six prisoners or on the logistics behind their transfer.