Mullah Baradar’s Release Will Leave ‘No Impact’ on Afghan Peace: Analysts

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, also known as Mullah Baradar, is a co-founder of the Taliban militant group in Afghanistan. He was arrested by Pakistani authorities in Karachi in 2010.
The move has been taken after Taliban confirmed that they had held talks with U.S. Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
Some Afghan analysts in Kabul said that the U.S. is playing double game by releasing Mullah Baradar from a prison in Pakistan, insisting that Washington wants to prolong its presence in Afghanistan and that not committed to bringing lasting peace in the war-weary country.
“The U.S. has had contacts with the Taliban. Washington wants to follow its games and plans [in Afghanistan],” said Atiqullah Amarkhail, an Afghan political analyst based in Kabul. “The U.S. neither puts pressure on Pakistan nor takes actions to eliminate the Taliban. The country is using every possible option to prolong its stay in Afghanistan.”
Another analyst, Rahmatullah Bezhanpoor said that the U.S. is trying to reintroduce Mullah Baradar in the peace process as he believes the Taliban has no other “influential” leader.
“The U.S. never wants to bring peace in Afghanistan, otherwise it could have solved the issue of Afghanistan peace in short space of time, even in a week,” Bezhanpoor added.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), however, said the international community should increase pressures on Pakistan to stop sponsoring the militant groups – destabilizing Afghanistan.
“We welcome the U.S. efforts in Afghan peace process. We hope that these efforts could kick off peace talks [with the Taliban],” said MoFA Spokesman Sebghatullah Ahmadi. “We want the increase of pressures on Pakistan so that terrorism get eradicated in the region.”