Pakistan releases two senior Taliban commanders: sources
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-pakistan-taliban/pakistan-releases-two-senior-taliban-commanders-sources-idUSKCN1MZ1YV
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistan has released one of the co-founders of the Afghan Taliban along with another high-ranking militant commander, senior members of the Taliban said on Thursday, with the freed fighters allowed to reunite with their families.
Pakistan declined to comment on the alleged release, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal on Thursday telling reporters that he would “not like to comment on media reports”.
Security experts in Kabul said the move could be a result of talks launched by the U.S. special representative Zalmay Khalilzad with the Taliban. Earlier this month Khalilzad met Taliban leaders in Qatar in an effort to find a way to end the 17-year-old war in Afghanistan.
The Taliban’s co-founder and former second-in-command, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, was released after high-level negotiations, three senior Taliban members told Reuters, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Mullah Abdul Samad Sani, another senior Taliban commander, was also released.
A senior official in Afghanistan, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said Afghan authorities believe Islamabad this week released Baradar and Sani, along with Mullah Mohammad Rasul, a third Taliban figure. Rasul is the leader of the High Council of Afghanistan Islamic Emirate, a Taliban group in Afghanistan, the Afghan official added.