Taliban prisoners: special body being formed to scrutinise list

The government is setting up a special committee comprising of representatives of the federal and provincial governments, security agencies and all relevant departments to scrutinise the list of non-combatant Taliban detainees for their possible release under the ongoing peace process, it is learnt. Sources privy to the development said this committee would be supervised by the Interior Ministry. It would examine cases against the Taliban detainees.
The Taliban shura recently handed over a list of some 300 "non-combatants," including women and children, to a government constituted negotiating team during the first direct interaction. Sources said that security agencies had earlier rejected the Taliban's claims that non-combatants were in their custody. However, they said the committee would examine and cross-check the claims by conducting a verification of non-combatant Taliban prisoners.
Rustom Shah Mohmand, a government-nominated committee member, while talking to Business Recorder, confirmed and stated that a team would be constituted to cross-check the cases in the list provided by the Taliban. He added the government committee would hold another round of direct interaction with the Taliban shura in the coming two to three days, and the venue and the date was being finalised.
He said the government committee would take up the release of some prisoners in the upcoming meeting. "The government has already released some of the Taliban detainees and now we will press them [Taliban] to also free people in their custody like Professor Ajmal Khan, Shahbaz Taseer and Ali Haider Gilani," he added. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan recently stated the government would soon free another batch of 13 Taliban prisoners and urged the Taliban to reciprocate with the release of non-combatants including vice chancellor Islamia College University Ajmal Khan, Shahbaz Taseer, Ali Haider Gilani, some government officials and foreigners.
The sources maintained the decision to form a special committee was taken following the reported apprehensions expressed by the security establishment on unilateral release of Taliban detainees. They said the security forces would be taken into confidence prior to taking any decision on the release of Taliban prisoners.