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Taliban frees 53 security force members held captive in Kandahar
The Taliban has released 53 members of the Afghan Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) that were being held captive by the group in southern Kandahar province.
Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, a spokesman for the Taliban confirmed the move in a tweet late Friday night.
A list of released hostages seen by Ariana News shows that this group of captives had been captured in Arghandab, Spin Boldak, Maroof, Arghistan, Panjwai, Shah Walikot, and Maiwand districts in recent months.
Heavy fighting has been ongoing in these districts in Kandahar since late last year and has displaced thousands of families.
The government has not yet however commented on the release of the security force members.
This comes just days after Afghan security forces freed over 30 prisoners from Taliban captivity in Herat province.
“Eleven army soldiers, seven policemen, three Afghan Air Force personnel, seven civilian workers of development projects, seven government employees, and a member of the public uprising force are released from prison,” the Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.
The MoD also shared pictures of the prisoners who were said to have been held in an improvised Taliban prison in the Adraskan district of Herat.
The release of prisoners, held by both parties to the conflict, has become a contentious issue in the past two months.
According to the US-Taliban agreement signed in Doha in February last year, both the Afghan government and the Taliban had to free prisoners.
The Afghan government released the last batch of 5,500 Taliban prisoners six months ago in accordance with the agreement.
The Taliban at the time also released over 1,000 prisoners.
However, in ongoing peace talks in Doha, the Taliban has repeatedly called for a further 7,000 Taliban prisoners to be freed but government has refused to do so.
In an interview last month, First Vice President Amrullah Saleh said the Taliban had breached their commitments under the deal, pointing to an increase in violence and to intelligence showing they had not severed their ties to al-Qaeda.
He also said that Taliban prisoners freed by the Afghan government as part of the US-brokered deal had in fact resumed fighting instead of going back to their homes.
Zhao Xing, the Chinese Ambassador to Kabul, has invited political deputy prime minister Mawlavi Abdul Kabir to participate in the upcoming Trans-Himalayan Forum meeting.
The Chinese envoy said at a meeting Wednesday with Kabir that Beijing supports the Islamic Emirate in terms of attending international meetings, especially UN Security Council meetings.
Zhao also said China was committed to cooperating with the Islamic Emirate.
Kabir in turn expressed his gratitude for China’s support and cooperation across numerous sectors and said that as a responsible government, the Islamic Emirate is bound by commitments made and tries to play an active role in regional issues and the stability and development of the region.
Kabir also acknowledged China’s support of the Islamic Emirate and said Beijing’s cooperation can bring about positive changes and economic growth in the country.
Torkham commissioner Mullah Abdul Jabbar Hikmat said Thursday the crossing will be closed for the next three days in order for Pakistan border authorities to move into new premises.
He said the crossing has been closed to travelers and to people seeking medical help in Pakistan.
Hikmat appealed to the public not to make their way to the crossing over the next three days.
However, trucks carrying goods will still be able to cross as per usual, in both directions.
Pakistani media has also reported that the crossing will be closed from May 17 to May 19 in order to enable border officials to move into new premises.
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense confirmed Wednesday that one person was killed and 12 were injured when a helicopter crashed in Firozkoh, the capital of Ghor province.
Enayatullah Khwarazmi, the spokesman of the Ministry of Defense, said on X that on Wednesday morning, an Air Force Mi-17 helicopter, which was sent to Ghor province, experienced technical problems and crashed into a wall during an emergency landing.
In footage published by Afghan media, the wreckage of a helicopter can be seen lying in a fast-flowing river, with crowds of people gathered around it.
The spokesman of the Ministry of Defense said the helicopter had been sent to Firozkoh to retrieve bodies of car crash victims.
The spokesman said a car plunged into the Harirod River a few days ago, resulting in the death of a few people.
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