Kabul to swap militant commanders for American, Australian prisoners: Ghani

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani (center) talks with U.S. special representative for Afghan peace and reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad (upper left), during a cabinet meeting at the Presidential Palace in Kabul on January 2, 2019. (AFP/File photo)

• Announcement comes as Pakistani intelligence chief holds talks in Kabul to defuse escalating tensions
• Decision to free Haqqani and Taliban commanders could pave the way for reopening of peace talks with US government

ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan will release two senior Taliban commanders and a leader of the Haqqani militant group in exchange for an American and an Australian professor who were kidnapped in 2016, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said on Tuesday.
The decision to free Anas Haqqani, Anas Haqqani, the younger brother of Sirajjuddin Haqqani, the leader of the Haqqani network and two other Taliban commanders in a prisoner swap could pave the way for peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
The announcement also comes as the head of Pakistan’s premier intelligence agency held talks with senior Afghan security officials in Kabul to defuse tensions over the alleged harassment of Afghan diplomats in both countries, Pkistani official said on Tuesday.
“In order to pave the way for a face-to-face negotiations with the Taliban, the government has decided to free Taliban prisoners in exchange for two university professors,” Ghani said in a televised speech.
The Haqqani network has in recent years carried large-scale militant attack on civilians. It is believed to be based in Pakistan and is part of the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Taliban had kidnapped the Australian and American professors in August 2016 from the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul.
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt-General Faiz Hameed’s visit to Kabul follows comments by the Afghan Foreign Ministry (AFM) last week that its ambassador in Islamabad, Atif Mashal, had been “summoned and mistreated” by Pakistani intelligence operatives in a “clear contradiction of diplomatic norms and principles.”
Pakistan has denied the allegations.
After Kabul’s allegations, Ambassador Mashal went to Kabul for consultations with the government but has now returned to Islamabad, an embassy source told Arab News on Tuesday.
The Pakistan embassy said DG ISI and Foreign Secretary, Sohail Mahmood, held “productive meetings” with Afghanistan’s National Security Adviser, Hamdullah Mohib, the Afghan intelligence chief and acting Foreign Minister Idrees Zaman, on Monday.
“Recent developments, including the harassment of Pakistan’s diplomatic personnel in Kabul, were discussed. It was agreed to form a technical committee to look into the matter with a view to immediately resolving it,” the embassy said.
“Various aspects of Pakistan-Afghanistan bilateral relations came under discussion. Both sides agreed to maintain close liaison and communication and identify steps to move forward on relevant issues,” the statement added.
The embassy also said the participants of the meeting agreed to hold the next meeting of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) in Kabul in December, as had been decided at a previous meeting held in Islamabad in June.
The APAPPS framework comprises five Working Groups that are focused on politico-diplomatic, military-to-military coordination, intelligence cooperation, economy, and refugee issues.
Kabir Haqmal, spokesman for the Afghan NSA, said in a video posted on Twitter that both sides discussed efforts to normalize bilateral ties, the formation of a technical committee to solve the problems, and the issue of the Afghan Market in Peshawar.
Last month, Afghanistan shut down its consulate in Peshawar over the ownership of an Afghan market in Peshawar, which Kabul says is its property but which the Pakistan’s Supreme Court has ruled is owned by a Pakistani national.
Meanwhile, a statement released by the AFM last week called on thePakistani government to “align its diplomatic relations with Afghanistan in compliance with international conventions and accepted diplomatic norms.”
For it’s part, the Pakistani embassy in Kabul said Afghan intelligence operatives and police had been “harassing” its diplomats and other staffers over the past few days. Several videos and photographs shared with Arab News appear to show Pakistani embassy’s vehicles being obstructed.
In retaliation, Pakistan closed its consular section citing “security reasons”, before putting a halt on visa operations in Kabul where hundreds of people visit the Pakistani embassy for visas on a daily basis. Pakistan then began issuing visas only to those with a valid medical emergency.