U.S. sends four Afghans home from Guantanamo

WASHINGTON— The Pentagon said Saturday that four Afghans from the Guantanamo Bay detention centre have been returned to their home country in what U.S. officials are citing as a sign of their confidence in new Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

Obama administration officials said they worked quickly to fulfil the request from Ghani, in office just three months, to return the four — long cleared for release — as a kind of reconciliation and mark of improved U.S.-Afghan relations.

There is no requirement that the Afghan government further detain the men, identified as Mohammed Zahir, Shawali Khan, Abdul Ghani and Khi Ali Gul. Afghanistan’s High Peace Council, a government-appointed group, confirmed the transfer but did not identify the men, saying that the four “will be reunited soon with their families.” The council also requested the repatriation of the eight Afghans among the 132 detainees remaining at the prison.

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul, the Afghan capital, said in a statement that it had “full confidence in the Afghan government’s ability to mitigate any threats these individuals may pose and to ensure that they are given humane treatment.” The transfer “demonstrates Afghan sovereignty and U.S. trust in the strength of Afghan government institutions,” according to the statement.

Although the four Afghans have long been approved for transfer, the move sparked debate in Washington. Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel did not immediately sign off after Gen. John F. Campbell, the top American commander in Afghanistan, raised concerns they could pose a danger to troops in the country.

The move is the latest in a series of transfers during the past two months. President Barack Obama has been pushing to reduce the number of detainees as he tries to make progress toward his goal of closing the globally condemned detention centre at a U.S. navy base in Cuba for suspected terrorists.

Administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, say more transfers are expected in the coming weeks. Of those who remain in detention, 64 have been approved for transfer.

Obama issued a statement Friday objecting to congressional restrictions on closing Guantanamo. He said shutting down the detention facility was a “national imperative.”