Afghan Decision to Free Taliban Members Can Help Foster Peace

(Bloomberg) -- The Taliban said the release of three of its senior members by the Afghan government could help President Ashraf Ghani’s efforts to find peace with the militant group, which has battled U.S. and Afghan forces since 2001.

The release is “a step forward in goodwill and confidence-building measures that can aid the peace process,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said in a statement sent by WhatsApp to reporters. Ghani last week had announced the release in the hope of starting direct talks with the militants and end the 18-year old conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of Afghan lives, killed more than 2,400 U.S. soldiers and cost the U.S. about a trillion dollars.

One of those released is Anas Haqqani, brother of Sirajuddin Haqqani, who leads the Haqqani network, one of the deadliest terrorist groups in Afghanistan. The two others are Haji Mali Khan and Hafiz Abdul Rasheed.

The three arrived in Doha, Qatar, where the group has a political office, the group’s spokesman for political wing, Suhail Shaheen, confirmed on Twitter. The U.S. also supported Ghani’s decision to release the three in an effort to boost peace, U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan John Bass said.

They were released in exchange for U.S. citizen Kevin King, 60, and Australian Timothy Weeks, 48, who were kidnapped by the Taliban in 2016 while leaving the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul. The professors were handed over to the American forces today.

The Taliban has repeatedly rejected the Afghan government’s calls for negotiations calling it illegitimate and a U.S. puppet. U.S. President Donald Trump in September abruptly called off talks with the Taliban following the death of an American soldier in an attack claimed by the group.

“The release could help resume U.S.-Taliban talks, and thus may open the door for direct Afghan-Taliban talks,” said Jawid Kohistani, a political analyst in Kabul.

To contact the reporter on this story: Eltaf Najafizada in Kabul at enajafizada1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ruth Pollard at rpollard2@bloomberg.net, Abhay Singh, Devidutta Tripathy

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