Islamabad: Pakistan has released eight Afghan Taliban prisoners, including senior former administration chiefs, in a bid to aid its wartorn neighbour's peace efforts, officials said Tuesday.
Former justice minister Nooruddin Turabi and ex-governor of Helmand province were among those freed, a government official said Monday, putting the number released at four.
Pakistan's foreign ministry later issued a statement to say eight detainees, including Turabi and Bari, had been set free.
"A total of eight Afghan prisoners were released on Monday," a senior Pakistani official confirmed to AFP on Tuesday.
Foreign ministry spokesman Moazzam Ahmad Khan said the move was part of efforts "to further facilitate the Afghan reconciliation process".
"Pakistan has today released eight Taliban detainees including Abdul Bari, ex-Governor Helmand; Nur-ud-Din Turabi, ex-Justice Minister; Allah Daad Tabib, ex-Minister; Mullah Daud Jan, ex-Governor Kabul; Mir Ahmed Gul, ex-Governor," he said in a statement late Monday.
"Last month (November) too, Pakistan released eighteen Taliban prisoners on request of the Afghan High Peace Council," Khan added.
Islamabad has agreed to release prisoners to help bring an end to an 11-year conflict between the Taliban and the the Afghan government.
Afghan officials have said senior Taliban leaders held captive in Pakistan could help bring militants to the negotiating table and help end the war, as US-led NATO troops prepare to withdraw from Afghanistan in 2014.
Support from Pakistan, which backed the 1996-2001 Taliban regime in Kabul, is seen as crucial to peace in Afghanistan after NATO's departure.
The Taliban, who have been fighting an insurgency since the 2001 US-led invasion, refuse to negotiate directly with Kabul, calling the government of President Hamid Karzai a US puppet.
Preliminary communications between the US and the Taliban in Doha were broken off in March when the militants failed to secure the release of five of their comrades held at the Guantanamo Bay prison on the US base in Cuba.
Former justice minister Nooruddin Turabi and ex-governor of Helmand province were among those freed, a government official said Monday, putting the number released at four.
Pakistan's foreign ministry later issued a statement to say eight detainees, including Turabi and Bari, had been set free.
Foreign ministry spokesman Moazzam Ahmad Khan said the move was part of efforts "to further facilitate the Afghan reconciliation process".
Advertisement
"Last month (November) too, Pakistan released eighteen Taliban prisoners on request of the Afghan High Peace Council," Khan added.
Advertisement
Afghan officials have said senior Taliban leaders held captive in Pakistan could help bring militants to the negotiating table and help end the war, as US-led NATO troops prepare to withdraw from Afghanistan in 2014.
Advertisement
The Taliban, who have been fighting an insurgency since the 2001 US-led invasion, refuse to negotiate directly with Kabul, calling the government of President Hamid Karzai a US puppet.
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Pakistan Reports 1st M-Pox Case As Saudi Arabia Returnee Tests Positive How Extreme Weather Is Leading To Rise In Child Marriages In Pakistan "Who Gives These Rankings?": Ex-Pakistan Star Slams ICC, Questions Babar Azam's Spot At Top How Extreme Weather Is Leading To Rise In Child Marriages In Pakistan Mamata Banerjee's Sunday Ultimatum To CBI For Death Penalty In Rape-Murder "Prove With Pics Crime Scene Intact": Court To Bengal Over Hospital Vandalism GATE 2025 Information Brochure Out, Check Highlights Of Exam 4 Arrested In Chinese-linked Online Betting App Fraud Worth Rs 400 Crore Haryana To Vote On October 1 For State Elections, Counting On October 4 Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.