Afghanistan presses Pakistan to free Taliban prisoners

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFxV3G6GLSuTF05vM4dI8yIsf16wz6ikBfCdUeUM2JOkUj1cX-j2ZuDcneSpsnwPPXEmeLkhq5-_jG7MgPNtSQ_evCYjP-Ae8xoxyTB8m7mAqCulaeFisRQJmo1qAY-AtuIclgEtgSF30/s1600/51c66b95b26da.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFxV3G6GLSuTF05vM4dI8yIsf16wz6ikBfCdUeUM2JOkUj1cX-j2ZuDcneSpsnwPPXEmeLkhq5-_jG7MgPNtSQ_evCYjP-Ae8xoxyTB8m7mAqCulaeFisRQJmo1qAY-AtuIclgEtgSF30/s1600/51c66b95b26da.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><b>KABUL: Pakistan could secure peace in Afghanistan by releasing dozens of senior Taliban prisoners to help kick-start the process, the Afghan foreign ministry said on Saturday, in remarks that underscore the issues vexing peace talks in Qatar.</b><br /><br />The ministry’s statement was a response to comments by the Pakistani foreign ministry on Tuesday, which welcomed the opening of a Taliban office in the Qatari capital of Doha, saying the country stood “ready to continue to facilitate the process to achieve lasting peace”.<br /><br />“The release of these prominent Taliban leaders would provide the High Peace Council of Afghanistan with the opportunity to start peace talks with them,” it added, referring to a body set up by President Hamid Karzai in 2010 to seek a negotiated end to the 12-year war with a Taliban-led insurgency.<br /><br />The Taliban opened their Doha office this week amid hopeful signs of movement in a long-stalled peace process.<br /><br />But the opening ceremony caused a stir, with the Taliban envoys raising the Taliban flag and signs proclaiming the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan”, the name used during their brief rule from 1996 to 2001.<br /><br />This prompted Mr Karzai to cancel plans for an Afghan peace delegation to travel to Qatar and suspend talks with the United States over a vital security pact in the belief it had failed to ensure the Taliban did not misuse the office.<br /><br />Pakistan is seen as crucial to stability in Afghanistan as most foreign combat troops look to leave the country in 2014, given close political and economic ties.<br /><br />Afghanistan has long sought the release of, or at least access to, dozens of senior Taliban officials captured in Pakistan.<br /><br />Mr Karzai is known to particularly desire the release of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Taliban leader Mullah Omar’s former second in command and a hugely influential figure in the insurgency.<br /><br />Baradar was the day-to-day commander responsible for leading the Taliban campaign against US and Nato troops, until his capture in 2010 in Karachi.<br /><br />Afghan officials believe Baradar could play a key role in talks with the insurgents, acting as a go-between with Taliban leaders, including Mullah Omar.

Afghanistan presses Pakistan to free Taliban prisoners

KABUL: Pakistan could secure peace in Afghanistan by releasing dozens of senior Taliban prisoners to help kick-start the process, the Afghan...

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