Afghanistan: Release of Taliban prisoners said halted

KABUL, Afghanistan

The Afghan government has halted the release of three top Taliban prisoners amid the insurgents’ alleged failure to meet the conditions attached to the swap deal, a well-placed source told Anadolu Agency on Saturday.

In a major security development, this Tuesday President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani confirmed the release of key Taliban leader Anas Haqqani, saying he would be freed in exchange for the release of two foreign lecturers from the American University of Afghanistan.

A well-placed official source told Anadolu Agency the release was halted at the last minute following a deadly car bombing in the capital Kabul that killed 12 civilians in Kabul and a similar assault on U.S. forces in the Logar province last week.

“These prisoners remain [in Bagram prison], they have not been released in the first place due to the attacks in Kabul and Logar. There were conditions attached with the release such as a reduction in violence that have not been met by the Taliban,” said the official, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

There has been no official announcement on the matter.

Zabihullah Mujahid, chief spokesman for the Afghan Taliban, told local Ashna Radio on Friday that the deal was suspended for now and it was up to U.S. officials to explain why they allegedly went back on their promise.

American Kevin King and Australian Timothy Weeks were teaching at the university in Kabul before they were seized at gunpoint in August 2016.

Anas Haqqani, son of the fierce Haqqani network’s father – the veteran anti-Soviet figure Jalaluddin Haqqani – and the other two Taliban figures Hafiz Abd Rashid and Mali Khan were supposed to be handed over to the Taliban in Qatar.

The Haqqani Network is an offshoot of the Taliban wielding significant clout in the insurgency, now entering its 19th year.