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Taliban free US and Australian hostages in prisoner swap Taliban free US and Australian hostages in prisoner swap
(32 minutes later)
Timothy Weeks and Kevin King had spent more than three years in captivityTimothy Weeks and Kevin King had spent more than three years in captivity
The Taliban say they have released an American and an Australian held hostage since 2016 in exchange for three top Taliban figures who were released by the Kabul government and flown out of Afghanistan the previous day. The Taliban have released an American and an Australian held hostage since 2016 in exchange for three prominent members of the militant group who were released by the Afghan government and flown to Qatar the previous day.
Australian Timothy Weeks, 50 and Kevin King, 63, an American, were released in southern Zabul province, ending their more than three years in captivity. Australian Timothy Weeks, 50, and Kevin King, 63, an American, were released in southern Zabul province, ending their more than three years in captivity. The prisoner swap was supposed to have taken place last week but was aborted for reasons that are still unclear.
The three Taliban prisoners reportedly include Anas Haqqani, the younger brother of the Taliban deputy, Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is also head of the hardline Haqqani network. The release of the two westerners, who were teachers at Kabul’s American University of Afghanistan, was confirmed on Tuesday by Taliban officials and by Imran Khan, the prime minister of Pakistan, who said his government had helped to facilitate the exchange.
The three released Taliban prisoners include Anas Haqqani, the younger brother of the militant group’s deputy, Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is also head of the hardline Haqqani network.
The Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, announced the “conditional release” of the Taliban figures at a press event broadcast live on state television last week. He said it was a hard decision but one he felt compelled to make in the interest of the Afghan people.The Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, announced the “conditional release” of the Taliban figures at a press event broadcast live on state television last week. He said it was a hard decision but one he felt compelled to make in the interest of the Afghan people.
The swap had been expected to take place within hours of Ghani’s announcement but diplomats soon flagged a problem and after two days, a Taliban spokesman said the group had yet to receive its prisoners. The reasons for the delay – and for the apparent resumption of the deal on Tuesday – are unclear. The swap had been expected to take place within hours of Ghani’s announcement but diplomats soon flagged a problem, and after two days a Taliban spokesman said the group had yet to receive its prisoners. The reasons for the delay – and for the apparent resumption of the deal on Tuesday – are unclear.
Weeks, from the New South Wales town of Wagga Wagga, and King, from Pennsylvania, were abducted at gunpoint from a car in August 2016. They were seized outside the American University in Kabul where they both worked as teachers.Weeks, from the New South Wales town of Wagga Wagga, and King, from Pennsylvania, were abducted at gunpoint from a car in August 2016. They were seized outside the American University in Kabul where they both worked as teachers.
US Navy Seals conducted a raid to free them days later, descending on a militant hideout in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan, but the men had been moved hours earlier, according to reports.US Navy Seals conducted a raid to free them days later, descending on a militant hideout in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan, but the men had been moved hours earlier, according to reports.
The pair appeared looking gaunt and weathered in a video released in January 2017 begging their parents to ask the US government to negotiate for their release.The pair appeared looking gaunt and weathered in a video released in January 2017 begging their parents to ask the US government to negotiate for their release.
They appeared in a second video later that year, setting a June 2017 deadline for their release, in which Weeks pleaded with then-Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull to negotiate for his release. They appeared in a second video later that year, setting a June 2017 deadline for their release, in which Weeks pleaded with the then Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull to negotiate for his release.
Both men said they were being treated well by the Taliban but that they would remain prisoners and unless their governments could negotiate their freedom. It is unknown whether the men had been forced to speak. Both men said they were being treated well by the Taliban but that they would remain prisoners unless their governments could negotiate their freedom. It is unknown whether the men had been forced to speak.
The Taliban released a statement in October of that year claiming King was suffering from a “dangerous heart and kidney disease”.The Taliban released a statement in October of that year claiming King was suffering from a “dangerous heart and kidney disease”.
“We have tried to treat him from time to time, but we do not have medical facilities as we are in a war situation,” the Taliban statement said.“We have tried to treat him from time to time, but we do not have medical facilities as we are in a war situation,” the Taliban statement said.
A Taliban commander in eastern Afghanistan previously told the Guardian the group considered teachers at the American University of Afghanistan dangerous as they “change the minds of society”.A Taliban commander in eastern Afghanistan previously told the Guardian the group considered teachers at the American University of Afghanistan dangerous as they “change the minds of society”.
Khan said Pakistan welcomed the release of the men and hoped it would give “a boost of confidence to all parties involved to re-engage in the peace process”.
The American University of Afghanistan said in a statement it “shares the relief of the families of Kevin and Timothy, and we look forward to providing all the support we can to Kevin and Tim and their families”.
Southern Zabul province, where the two professors were freed, is heavily controlled by the Taliban and vast parts of it have long been a no-go area for the government.
According to the Taliban, an unofficial ceasefire is being observed in three districts of the province – Shahjoy, Shahmatzo and Naw Bahar – possibly to facilitate the release of the two hostages.
The Haqqani group predates the Taliban but has become integrated into its structure, and is suspected of having carried out some of the most brutal and indiscriminate attacks over the course of the nearly two decades of war that have followed the 2001 US-led invasion.The Haqqani group predates the Taliban but has become integrated into its structure, and is suspected of having carried out some of the most brutal and indiscriminate attacks over the course of the nearly two decades of war that have followed the 2001 US-led invasion.
Besides a statement in 2017 that the Australian government was “working to secure the release of an Australian man in Afghanistan”, very little has been publicly said, and no public campaigns by the family or otherwise have been made regarding their cases.Besides a statement in 2017 that the Australian government was “working to secure the release of an Australian man in Afghanistan”, very little has been publicly said, and no public campaigns by the family or otherwise have been made regarding their cases.
The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, and the US national security adviser Robert O’Brien made separate calls to Ghani on Monday to discuss the prisoners’ release, Ghani’s spokesman, Sediq Sediqqi, said. The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, and the US national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, made separate calls to Ghani on Monday to discuss the prisoners’ release, Ghani’s spokesman, Sediq Sediqqi, said.
The release and swap were intended to try to restart talks to end Afghanistan’s 18-year war and allow for the eventual withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.The release and swap were intended to try to restart talks to end Afghanistan’s 18-year war and allow for the eventual withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.
The US had been close to an agreement with the Taliban in September but a fresh wave of violence in the Afghan capital in which a US soldier died brought talks and any impending deal to a halt.The US had been close to an agreement with the Taliban in September but a fresh wave of violence in the Afghan capital in which a US soldier died brought talks and any impending deal to a halt.
The agreement was to call for direct talks between the Taliban and Afghan government as well as other prominent Afghans to find a negotiated end to the war and to set out a roadmap for a peaceful post-conflict Afghanistan.The agreement was to call for direct talks between the Taliban and Afghan government as well as other prominent Afghans to find a negotiated end to the war and to set out a roadmap for a peaceful post-conflict Afghanistan.
The Guardian has contacted the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Associated Press contributed to this report.
Associated Press contributed to this report