Pakistan released two Taliban officials on Monday during US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad’s latest visit to the region, in what could be part of American efforts to revive peace talks with the insurgent group, which now controls nearly half of Afghanistan.
Abdul Samad Sani, a US-designated terrorist who served as De Afghanistan Bank’s governor during the militants’ rule in the late 1990s, and a lower-ranking commander named Salahuddin, were released Monday, according to two Taliban officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media. There was no immediate comment from the Pakistani government.
Khalilzad is on his second regional tour since being appointed, with stops in Pakistan, Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates as well as Qatar, where the Taliban maintain a political office. The insurgents say they met Khalilzad in Qatar last month. Khalilzad arrived in the region last Thursday and will return to Washington on Nov. 20.
When Khalilzad was last in the region Pakistan released another Taliban leader, Abdul Ghani Baradar, one of the founders of the movement. Baradar was arrested in 2010 in a joint US and Pakistani operation. At the time, it was reported Baradar was taken into custody by Pakistan after he tried to open independent peace talks with Afghanistan’s then-president, Hamid Karzai.
In a recent interview, Karzai told The Associated Press he had repeatedly tried to secure Baradar’s release but he was thwarted by both Pakistan and the US, who wanted him detained because of his stature within the Taliban.
