Release of detainees from Bagram jail could worsen Kabul-Washington rift

The decision by the Afghan government to release 37 more detainees from the Bagram prison could further worsen the rift between Kabul and Washington over the controversial Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA), analysts here have said. The BSA would have allowed continued U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, albeit in smaller numbers, after the pullout of U.S.- led forces NATO forces from Afghanistan later this year. Despite tremendous pressure from Washington, the government of President Hamid Karzai has up to now refused to sign the security pact. "This is the right of judiciary to release the prisoners and not the right of a commission constituted by the president. No doubt the extra-judicial release of the suspected terrorists arrested by Americans would further damage the already strained relations with the United States," former diplomat Ahmad Sayedi told Xinhua. The Afghan government which had set free 650 detainees from the U.S.-run Bagram detention center in early January decided to release all detainees, a step which the U.S. slammed as a breach of the agreement reached in March 2013 when the Pentagon handed over the Bagram jail to Afghan administration. According to the agreement, the Afghan government was bound to consult with U.S. before the release of the detainees. The government-backed Afghan Review Board (ARB), a special panel reviewing the cases of Bagram detainees, on Monday ordered the release of 37 more detainees out of 88 prisoners whom Washington termed as "dangerous "We strongly condemn the extrajudicial release of these detainees," said Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren. Afghan analysts believe that the release of detainees from Bagram would encourage Taliban militants to intensify their activities against Afghan and NATO coalition forces based in Afghanistan and eventually damage the alliance's relations with Kabul. "The stance adopted by President Karzai would isolate Afghanistan and eventually the U.S. and the international community would stop supporting the country," said Ikram Andishmand, another political analyst. In a press conference days ago, Karzai described the U.S.-run Bagram prison as "Taliban-making factory," saying that the facility is where innocent Afghans are imprisoned and after being tortured and insulted they learned to hate the country and later joined Taliban. Earlier, the U.S. forces still serving in Afghanistan also criticized the release of detainees from Bagram prison. "United States Forces-Afghanistan (USFOR-A) has learned that under the direction of the Afghan government, the Afghan Review Board (ARB), led by Abdul Shakoor Dadras, has ordered the release of the first 37 of 88 dangerous individuals under dispute who are legitimate threats to security and for whom there is strong evidence or investigative leads supporting prosecution or further investigation," the USFOR-A said in a statement released here Monday. Expressing its annoyance, the U.S. forces statement said "The U. S. has provided extensive information and evidence on each of the 88 detainees." "The 37 being released include 17 who are linked to the production of or attacks using improvised explosive devices; three who participated in or had knowledge of direct attacks wounding or killing 11 members of Afghan security forces; and four who participated in or had knowledge of direct attacks wounding or killing 42 U.S. or Coalition Force members," it added. In a television panel discussion on Monday, political analyst and parliamentarian Ahmad Behzad criticized the release of Taliban, warning that "Afghanistan would hugely suffer if the international community abandons the war-torn country."