Three Taliban prisoners, whose swap deal with the United States was suspended for a few days, arrived in Qatar late Monday after they were released from the Bagram jail, Taliban sources said.
Two foreign professors, who are held hostage by the Taliban, would also be released under the swap deal. Three Taliban leaders, including Anas Haqqani, brother of Taliban deputy chief Siraj ud Din Haqqani, reached Qatar in a special plane, a Taliban source in Qatar said.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced last week to release Anas Haqqani and two other leaders from the Bagram prison under a prisoner swap deal that he hoped will help in the peace process. However, the swap was stopped amid a blame game by the Taliban and the Afghan government. President Ghani said Taliban would also release American University of Afghanistan’s professors – Kevin King from the US and Timothy Weeks from Australia, who Taliban had kidnapped in August 2016 from Kabul.
However, a Taliban source told Daily Times that they would be released later.
There was no official word on the release of the Taliban leaders.
Anas Haqqani and Hafiz Rasheed had been arrested Bahrain airport on way back from Qatar, where they had gone to meet Taliban leaders freed from Guantanamo in 2014. They were later handed over to authorities in Afghanistan. Uncle of Anas Haqqani Mali Khan was also released. He was arrested by the foreign forces in 2001.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid and Afghan presidential spokesman Sediq Seddiqi had confirmed earlier that prisoners have not been released. Earlier Anas Haqqani in an audio message, which Taliban sources shared with the media, said that he is packing as he had received a message about his and others’ release. However, their release was delayed due to mistrust as to who should first release detainees. President Ghani said that the swap deal would lead to direct talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government. However, Taliban did not comment on Ghani’s speech. The prisoner swap deal is seen a major confidence building measure for the resumption of the peace process between the Taliban and the US. President Trump had called off the process in early September and the US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is struggling to revive the peace process. He had been involved in the prisoner swap deal over the past few weeks and had visited Pakistan and Afghanistan last month.
