Pak Frees Three Senior Afghan Taliban Leaders Outlook India Pakistan today released three senior Afghan Taliban leaders, including a close aide of Mullah Omar, as part of efforts to facilitate the reconciliation process in Afghanistan. Yes, three more have been released. This is ongoing process as part of efforts to facilitate reconciliation, a top official told PTI on condition of anonymity. Even though the names of the three leaders released could not be ascertained, the Express Tribune reported that they were Mullah Abdul Ahad Jahangirwal, a former adviser of Mullah Omar, Mullah Abdul Manan, a former Taliban governor in Helmand and Mullah Younus, a former military commander. The release comes just few days after the government- backed peace negotiators visited Pakistan and met the senior Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. These are very important personalities, a Taliban leader was quoted as saying by the daily. Pakistan has also quietly freed ten other low-key Taliban detainees over the past few weeks, the Afghan Taliban claimed. The number of freed Afghan Taliban since November has now crossed fifty. Those quietly freed include Azeem Agha, former head of Kandahar Passport office, Muhammad Amin, Sardar, Nematullah, Inamullah, Janat gul, Adam Khan, Salahuddin, Syed Mehmood, Engineer Mehmood and Hayatullah. In September, Pakistan had released senior Taliban commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. While Pakistan has said Baradar has been released, the Taliban claim that their former commander remains under house arrest and has not returned to his family. The last week visit by the five-member delegation of the Afghan High Peace Council took place after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif accepted a request by Afghan President Hamid Karzai seeking access to Baradar. Afghanistan believes Baradar is a key figure for its efforts to kick start the stalled peace process as NATO combat troops prepare to pull out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014. The commander had been in custody in Pakistan since his capture in Karachi in 2010. He was once considered the most influential Taliban leader after Mullah Omar.
Posted on: Thu, 28 Nov 2013 13:41:08 +0000
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