Pakistan will consider freeing former Afghan Taliban second-in-command Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar if current releases of lower level members help to advance peace efforts, officials from both countries said on Thursday, as Pakistan released 13 Afghan Taliban members following negotiations with an Afghan peace delegation.
The officials said the most senior of those released is Anwar ul-Haq, a former militant commander in eastern Afghanistan. The others are believed to be mid-level operatives. Former Taliban justice minister Mullah Turabi, who was expected to be freed, remains detained. It is unclear what impact the releases might have on peace efforts.
According to BBC, four of the Taliban were freed on Tuesday, during negotiations between Pakistan and the Afghan High Peace Council, and nine on Wednesday, after talks were extended by a day. The location of the freed detainees has not been disclosed. “After releasing 13 Taliban, Pakistan promised to free Mullah Baradar if these releases prove effective in peace negotiations,” a senior Afghan official close to talks between Islamabad and Kabul told Reuters. Afghanistan has been pushing Pakistan to release Afghan Taliban captives who could provide leverage in any peace talks with the movement.
Kabul has long been suspicious of its powerful neighbour’s intentions. Pakistan has gained credibility in the Afghan peace process by agreeing to release mid-level Taliban over the last two days. But Pakistan is under growing pressure to free senior Taliban figures such as Baradar to boost reconciliation efforts, as most NATO combat troops prepare to pull out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014 and anxiety grows over the country’s security.
Afghan officials believe he may command enough respect to persuade the Taliban to engage in talks with the Kabul government.
Asked if Baradar would also be freed, a senior Pakistani Foreign Ministry official said that was possible if the release of the Taliban figures “produced results”. “We’ve released about a dozen mid-level Taliban commanders now. The impact of this on reconciliation efforts and the peace process will determine the number and pace of future releases, as well as releases of high-level prisoners.” In August, senior officials from both countries said Afghan delegates held secret talks with Baradar, who was caught in the Pakistani city of Karachi in 2010. The Afghan government believes Baradar is more open to dialogue than many of his comrades. It is not entirely clear whether Baradar would promote peace or war against President Hamid Karzai’s Western-backed government if he returns home.
As military chief of the Taliban, he supervised ambushes and roadside bombings that proved highly effective against some of the world’s most powerful armies. But he was also known as a leader that could secure compromises. In the months before his arrest, Baradar authorised contacts with United Nations representatives to explore the possibility of dialogue, former UN and Taliban members said. Afghan officials have often viewed Pakistan as a reluctant partner in its attempts to broker talks with the Taliban. They believe Pakistan is holding Baradar and other senior Taliban figures to influence any settlement of the Afghan war now in its 11th year. Afghans fear failure to secure a peace deal before 2014 could trigger a civil war, or give the Taliban a chance to seize power again. A senior Afghan official told Reuters last week that no breakthrough was expected anytime soon. The Taliban said in March they were suspending separate peace talks with the United States held in Qatar because of “vague” US statements.
Pakistan frees 13 Afghan Taliban in major peace gesture
