Release of 88 Taliban fighters delayed after US protest, Afghan official says
Under pressure from the US, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has put a temporary stop on the release of imprisoned Taliban fighters
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has delayed the release from jail of 88 suspected Taliban fighters following complaints from the United States that they could return to the battlefield, officials said on Saturday.
The planned release had angered US military commanders and senators as Washington and Kabul edge closer to signing a long-delayed security pact allowing some American soldiers to stay in Afghanistan after 2014
“Based on a recent president’s order, we have started again reviewing the cases of the 88 prisoners,” Abdul Shokur Dadras, a member of the Afghan Review Board, told reporters.
“The president has also ordered the security and intelligence agencies to check their backgrounds and cases to make sure justice is served.”
US General Joseph Dunford, commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan, had lodged an official objection to the planned releases, saying they went against an agreement signed when Bagram was handed over.
Bagram jail was passed to Afghan control by the US in March after a public stand-off with Karzai, who has depicted the jail as a symbol of Afghanistan’s efforts to regain its national sovereignty.