ISLAMABAD: Making a major disclosure, the Foreign Office stated on Tuesday that 27 suspected Taliban and Haqqani network fighters were handed over to Kabul in November last year and vowed continued pressure against the two outfits, said to have been involved in the recent wave of terror attacks in Afghanistan.
The revelation was made in a late-evening tweet by spokesman Dr Muhammad Faisal, who in a post on Twitter said: “27 individuals suspected of belonging to TTA (Tehreek-i-Taliban Afghanistan) and HN (Haqqani network) have been handed over to Afghanistan in November 2017.”
However, no details were provided about who was handed over to the Afghan government and under what arrangement. It is, however, presumed that the transfer took place ahead of US Defence Secretary James Mattis’s trip to Islamabad on Dec 4.
The secret transfer may have ensured that the trip went smoothly, but it did not have any significant impact on US perceptions about Pakistan, much like the Joshua Boyle-Coleman recovery by Pakistani troops. It was praised by President Trump, but the goodwill was short-lived and the allegations returned soon.
Startling disclosure about Taliban and Haqqani suspects comes hours before Trump’s State of the Union address
Weeks after the handing over of Taliban and Haqqani fighters, the US president lashed out at Pakistan while unveiling his national security strategy and then followed up with his new year tweet in which he said: “The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!”
The spokesman tweeted this information about the handover of Taliban and Haqqani fighters hours before President Trump’s first State of the Union address, due on Tuesday night (Wednesday morning in Pakistan).
The address is expected to touch upon the situation in Afghanistan, where President Trump has decided to add 4,000 more troops under his new strategy for the conflict.
Three terrorist attacks in Kabul over the past few days in which around 130 people have been killed have left little doubt that the aggressive Trump strategy is not working well.
The administration blames Pakistan for not taking action against alleged Taliban and Haqqani network sanctuaries from which they are said to be sustaining the attacks in Afghanistan.
President Trump, after a meeting with ambassadors from UN Security Council member countries on Monday, ruled out peace talks with Taliban.
He said: “So there’s no talking to the Taliban. We don’t want to talk to the Taliban. We’re going to finish what we have to finish. What nobody else has been able to finish, we’re going to be able to do it.”
Although US officials have been saying that his speech would be “optimistic” and “forward looking”, it could contain a bitter tone about Pakistan if Mr Trump has not reconsidered so far his utterances against this country.
Dr Faisal, in another tweet, said Pakistan was exerting pressure on the Taliban and the Haqqani network. “Pakistan continues to push any suspected TTA & HN elements to prevent them from using our soil for any terrorist activity in Afghanistan,” he said.
He said terror attacks in Pakistan claimed the lives of 75,000 civilians and 6,000 soldiers. Pakistan has one of the highest officer-to-soldier casualty rate globally.
Pakistan and the US are engaged in a secret dialogue to mend the damage caused to the relationship by Mr Trump’s anti-Pakistan rhetoric.
Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2018
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