Pakistan to free senior Afghan Taliban leader, Mullah Baradar

Pakistan said Tuesday it will soon release senior Afghan Taliban leader, Mullah Andul Ghani Baradar, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

Mullah Baradar was arrested in Karachi in February 2010 in a joint raid by the American CIA agents and Pakistani forces.

Afghanistan welcomed the Pakistani government’s decision.

“Although Pakistan is not handing Mullah Brother directly to us, we still welcoming Pakistan’s decision to free Mullah Brother, but we hope they provide him with security, his address is known and he is accessible for talks on peace process,” President Karzai’s spokesman Emal Faizi told the media in Kabul.

Afghan government has been demanding Baradar’s release since his arrest as they believe he can play a key role in peace process.

“Pakistan has decided in principle to release senior Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in a bid to help promote the Afghan peace process,” Foreign Office spokesman Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said.

He said that the Taliban leader will be released at an appropriate time.

Earlier Advisor on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, also said his country will release Mullah Baradar this month.

Pakistan freed seven Afghan Taliban detainees this week taking the number of freed Taliban prisoners to 33 in ten months.

President Hamid Karzai had called for the release of Mullah Baradar and other Taliban who can help in peace process during his visit to Pakistan late last month.

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Posted by Tahir Khan on Sep 10 2013. Filed under Latest News, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.