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Ghani Confirms Release of Three Top Haqqani Network Commanders
President Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday confirmed that Anas Haqqani, Haji Mali Khan and Hafiz Rashid, three top Haqqani Network commanders, have been conditionally released in exchange for the release of two foreign university professors who were kidnapped by the Haqqani Network in 2016.
Speaking at a televised press conference, Ghani said the negotiations was made in close cooperation with the U.S. in order to pave the way for face-to-face negotiations with the Taliban.
Ghani said the health of the two professors has been deteriorating while in the custody of the terrorists.
Kevin King, 61, from the U.S., and Timothy Weeks, 49, from Australia, were professors at the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) in Kabul.
The Afghan President added that the decision to conditionally release the prisoners was tough, but important and a humanitarian gesture.
He added that the decision was made after consulting with Afghanistan’s international allies, especially the United States of America.
“We have said that to reach a peace with dignity we have to pay this bitter price, but we will not sacrifice the rights of the people, our democratic principles, or women’s rights and achievements,” Ghani said.
The AUAF, in a statement, said it “is encouraged to hear reports of the possible release of our two colleagues, Kevin King and Timothy Weeks.”
“While AUAF is not part of these discussions, we continue to urge the immediate and safe return of our faculty members who have been held in captivity, away from their friends and families, for more than three years,” the AUAF statement said.
Anas Haqqani is the brother of Sirajuddin Haqqani who is the leader of Haqqani network and Deputy Leader of the Taliban insurgent group. Mali Khan Zadran is a brother of the Haqqani Network’s Founder. Hafiz Rashid is the brother of Mullah Nabi Omari, a Guantanamo prisoner who was exchanged along other four men for captured U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl in 2014.
The announcement of prisoner swap comes a day after the Chief of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) visited Kabul and held talks with the Afghan National Security Advisor.
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More needs to be done to boost local industry, says Kabir
The deputy prime minister for policy, Mawlavi Abdul Kabir, met with Nooruddin Azizi, Acting Minister of Commerce and Industry, at Sapidar Palace on Tuesday and discussed issues around the quality of domestic products and the need to grow and develop the industrial sector.
Azizi said that good trade relations with neighboring countries has resulted in stable prices of goods in the country.
He said the Ministry of Commerce and Industry works closely with the private sector. As a result, the private sector functions in a befitting manner and the Islamic Emirate has provided necessary facilities.
Azizi said that based on the Islamic Emirate’s good economic policies, there has been a significant development in the import/export sector in the country.
Kabir in turn voiced appreciation for efforts by the leadership of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and said: “The unprecedented efforts of the IEA’s administrations and the stability of the Afghan currency caused the price of food ingredients to remain in the right state and our people also be able to buy essential materials.”
He emphasized the need to work for a balance in trade with neighboring countries, and said more efforts were needed to improve the quality of domestic products and to grow the sector.
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Russia and Tajikistan hold joint military drills along Afghanistan border
Russia and Tajikistan conducted a joint four-day military exercise along the border with Afghanistan in order to be prepared for any “potential threats”, Tajik media reported this week.
Russian military personnel from the 201st military base in Tajikistan participated in this exercise. Reports stated military personnel practiced various combat tactics, especially tactics to counter terrorist groups that illegally enter Tajikistan.
This comes amid repeated concerns expressed by Afghanistan’s neighbors about what they claim are terrorist threats originating from Afghanistan.
The Islamic Emirate has not yet commented on the drills but has repeatedly denied the presence of terrorist groups in the country. The IEA has also continuously said no militant group will be allowed to threaten another country from Afghanistan.
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Media Violation Commission bans two TV channels
The Media Violations Commission has ordered Noor and Barya TV channels to stop broadcasting and to appear in court, state-run Bakhtar News Agency reported on Tuesday.
ّIt is said that the decision against the channels was taken for “not observing the principles of journalism.”
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