Pakistan frees 7 Afghan Taliban

Pakistan freed at least seven Taliban prisoners on Wednesday at the request of the Afghan government, in a move meant to help jumpstart a shaky peace process with the militant group in neighbouring Afghanistan, officials said. The release of the prisoners described as mid- and low-level fighters is the most encouraging sign yet that Islamabad may be willing to play a constructive role in peace efforts that have made little headway since they began some four years ago, hobbled by distrust among the major players involved, including the United States. Afghan officials, hopeful that direct contact with Taliban commanders could give them leverage in any peace talks, have long urged Pakistan for access to prisoners. The task of energising the Afghan peace process is gaining urgency as Nato combat troops prepare to withdraw by the end of 2014. Pakistan released at least seven Taliban militants in response to a personal request by Salahuddin Rabbani, the head of an Afghan government council for peace talks with the Taliban, according to a Pakistani government official and an intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media. Rabbani was wrapping up his three-day visit to Islamabad on Wednesday. The Pakistani government official said the men who were released were “low- and mid-level” fighters, and it is up to them whether they go back to Afghanistan to participate in peace talks. The group did not include the Taliban’s former deputy leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who was captured in Pakistan in 2010, the official said. Earlier, Abdul Hamid Mubarez, a member of Afghanistan’s High Peace Council, visiting Islamabad, said: “Pakistan has sent us a very strong message and Pakistan has agreed in principle to start releasing prisoners from today.” Pakistan, with its historical ties to Afghan militant groups, is seen as critical to US efforts to pacify Afghanistan, perhaps President Barack Obama’s biggest foreign policy challenge as he starts a second term. It is not clear why Pakistan made the gesture at this time but it has come under mounting pressure to support US efforts to stabilise Afghanistan as the endgame nears. The decision to release the prisoners was a major achievement for the Afghan High Peace Council, which has been struggling to ease mistrust between the Taliban and the Kabul government. Afghan officials have suspected that Pakistan has been holding Afghan Taliban members in jail to retain some control over peace efforts and have a say in any settlement. Those in detention include former justice minister Mullah Nooruddin Toorabi and Mullah Jahangirwal, former secretary of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar and Allahdat Tayab, an ex-deputy minister, Afghan High Peace Council officials say. “We have asked Pakistan to release them because they were the policymakers of the Taliban and close aides to Mullah Omar,” said Habibullah Fawzi, a senior member of the Afghan peace team. Their release could encourage a number of Taliban commanders and fighters to join peace efforts, he said. Afghan embassy officials in Islamabad said the names of about 10 Afghan Taliban militants had been floated. Afghanistan’s government has failed to secure direct talks with the Taliban and no significant progress is expected before 2014, when most Nato combat troops withdraw, a senior Afghan official closely involved with reconciliation efforts told Reuters last week. The Afghan government has repeatedly asked Pakistan to release Baradar because he is seen by some as crucial to the peace process. Baradar was reportedly conducting talks with the Afghan government that were kept secret from the Pakistanis, and his arrest in the sprawling southern port city of Karachi reportedly angered Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Janan Mosazai declined comment on Wednesday’s prisoner release. Talat Masood, a retired Pakistani army general and defence analyst, said the prisoner release would improve the relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan, increasing the chances they could work together to strike a peace deal with the Taliban.