WASHINGTON - The travel ban imposed on five high-ranking Taliban leaders released by the U.S. from Guantanamo Bay two years ago will end in two days. The Afghan High Peace Council (HPC) has warned of damaging consequences if the former prisoners are allowed to rejoin the Taliban and contribute to their insurgency.
In Washington, the White House has assured that the U.S. will prevent the five men from becoming threats to Afghanistan once again. In the past, Taliban prisoners freed under former president Hamid Karzai, and across the border in Pakistan, have often reintegrated with militants and taken up arms against the Afghan government again.
Based on the agreement signed between the U.S. and Qatar, the release of the five Taliban commanders came originally as part of a prisoner swap for American soldier Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who had been abducted by the Taliban. The Taliban leaders have been under how arrest in Qatar since their release from Guantanamo, however, that restriction will end in two days.
Afghan HPC members have urged that the prisoners remain in Qatar or be handed over to the Afghan government in order to support the peace process.
"Any move that supports war against the people of Afghanistan, we consider it a hostile move," HPC global affairs advisor Mohammad Ismail Qasimyar said on Friday.
Washington, meanwhile, has assured that it is working with its allies around the world to ensure prisoners released from the Guantanamo Bay prison, which President Barack Obama has promised to close, do not become threats once again.
"We do remain in close contact with our partners to mitigate the threat that might be posed by former detainees," White House spokesman Eric Schultz said on Friday. "That's a general rule that we operate by, but I can tell you that I don't have specific conversations to read out to you in regards to the folks that you're referencing," he added, responding to a question about the five Taliban leaders. "I can tell you that it's fair to say that we and our partners remain vigilant and in close contact."
Independent analysts have urged the Afghan government to take responsibility for dealing with the prisoners, including utilizing them for mediating purposes in talks with the Taliban.
"The government of Afghanistan needs the support of these individuals so that they can play a mediator role between the two sides," political analyst Bakht Mohammad Bakhtyar told TOLOnews. "Otherwise, there is the possibility that they reintegrate and return to war."
The Taliban members having their travel ban lifted this weekend include Mullah Khairullah Khairkhaw, the Taliban regime's former governor of Herat province; Mullah Noorullah Noori, the Taliban's former national security deputy; Mullah Abdul Haq Wasiq, the Taliban's former deputy minister of interior; Mullah Fazil Mazloom; and Mohammad Nabi Omari. (Tolonews)