The release of five top leaders of Taliban from Guantanamo Bay Prison still has remained as an issue sparking heating discussions in the political sphere. First of all government supported the move, saying that their release will give momentum to peace negotiation with Taliban militants meanwhile indirectly denoted that decision without any consultation. In other words, Kabul was unaware of secret talks between Washington and Taliban for prisoner swap.
Later on, the gesture a bit changed. It was criticized for not handing them over to Kabul instead of Qatar and also the allegation that it promised to do, violating its commitment. But the US ambassador responded to criticisms. On Tuesday, he said that released prisoners were not about to be handed over to Afghanistan and he also claimed that it was something that Afghan officials were on the picture.
Without going deeper to the issue whether Kabul was on the picture or not, the release of prisoners as well as support of Kabul is questionable. Based on the wikileaks report, it cost US five hundred thousand US dollar just to transfer them to Guantanamo Bay. But how much the US spent for their detention possibly goes far beyond a million dollar. They are like five deputies of Mullah Mohammad Omar, the leader of Taliban militants and can deal serious blow to security situation if allowed to rejoin militants. On the other hand, there is accurate information about their crimes. They were directly or indirectly involved in massacre of people and thousands have lost lives by their direct order. So, how Washington which fights for human rights across the globe releases such criminals? Does the move affect the prestige of the US as staunch supporters of human rights in the world?
On the other hand, as said Kabul is really happy about their release. What it has problem with is why they were not handed over to Afghan government or allowed to come to their own country instead of handing them over to Qatar to keep them under watch. The reaction shows that government is not learning from the past and does not accept the present approach toward peace is entirely waste of time and resources. All Taliban commanders who were released from Afghanistan and Pakistan whether rejoined militants or simply went underground. None helped the peace process and Taliban are stronger than yesterday to reject talks with Kabul.