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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.
Two people have been killed amid protests against a poppy eradication campaign in northeastern Badakhshan province, local officials said.
Authorities said counter-narcotics forces were deployed on Friday to Atan Jalo area of Argo district to destroy poppy fields. Clashes erupted after a number of farmers and residents reportedly attempted to block the operation.
Officials said a child was killed during Friday’s unrest, while another person died on Saturday as protests and tensions continued in the area.
According to local authorities, demonstrators also temporarily blocked the Kishm–Faizabad highway, disrupting traffic for several hours before it was reopened following coordinated efforts by security officials, religious scholars, and community elders.
Officials blamed “drug traffickers and criminal groups” for inciting the unrest and said security forces have since regained control of the area.
A high-ranking Uzbek delegation comprising government officials and private sector representatives from the Republic of Karakalpakstan arrived in Kabul on Saturday to discuss the expansion of trade and economic cooperation with Afghanistan.
The delegation is headed by Amanbay Orinbayev, Chairman of the Supreme Council of Karakalpakstan.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the delegation is expected to hold talks with Nooruddin Azizi, the Minister of Industry and Commerce, focusing on strengthening bilateral trade and economic relations.
The ministry said the visiting delegation will also participate in trade connectivity meetings and business-to-business sessions aimed at enhancing commercial cooperation between the two sides.
As part of the visit, the Uzbek delegation is also scheduled to travel to Balkh province, where members will attend additional trade meetings and inaugurate an exhibition showcasing Uzbekistan’s domestic products.
Hamid Karzai, former president of Afghanistan, has expressed concern over recent developments along the Durand Line, saying Pakistan has increased military and economic pressure on villages and residents living near the line.
In a statement, Karzai said the apparent purpose of these pressures is to push residents of Durand Line areas to seek help from Pakistani institutions for resolving security and other local issues.
He added that, amid this situation, some tribal elders from both sides of the Durand Line recently signed documents described as “peace agreements,” which were later officially welcomed by Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to Karzai, these developments amount to an effort by Pakistan to legitimize the Durand Line and represent an action against Afghanistan’s national sovereignty.
The former Afghan president also urged the relevant Afghan authorities to provide the public with a clear explanation regarding the recent agreements and developments along the Durand Line.
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