Two Taleban officials freed in bid to revive Afghan talks
islamabad — Pakistan released two Taleban officials on Monday during US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad’s latest visit to the region, in what could be part of American efforts to revive peace talks with the insurgent group, which now controls nearly half of Afghanistan.
Abdul Samad Sani, a US-designated terrorist who served as the Afghan Central Bank governor during the militants’ rule in the late 1990s, and a lower-ranking commander named Salahuddin, were released on Monday, according to two Taleban officials. There was no immediate comment from the Pakistani government.
Khalilzad is on his second regional tour since being appointed, with stops in Pakistan, Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates as well as Qatar, where the Taleban maintain a political office. The insurgents say they met Khalilzad in Qatar last month. Khalilzad arrived in the region last Thursday and will return to Washington on November 20.
When Khalilzad was last in the region Pakistan released another Taleban leader, Abdul Ghani Baradar, one of the founders of the radical religious movement. Baradar was arrested in 2010 in a joint US and Pakistani operation. At the time, it was reported Baradar was taken into custody by Pakistan after he tried to open independent peace talks with Afghanistan’s then-president, Hamid Karzai.
In a recent interview, Karzai said he had repeatedly tried to secure Baradar’s release but he was thwarted by both Pakistan and the US, who wanted him detained because of his stature within the Taleban.
Baradar’s release has been a long-standing demand of the Taleban.
Efforts to find a peaceful end to Afghanistan’s protracted war have accelerated in recent months, as a troop surge announced by US President Donald Trump last August has done little to change conditions on the ground. —