US Refuses to Transfer High-Risk Prisoners to Afghan Control

The Obama administration considers the detainee problem a short-term disagreement unrelated to the strategic negotiations on Afghanistan’s future security.

Hamid Karzai photo: commons.wikimedia.org

(KABUL Khaama Press) - A dispute between Kabul and Washington over the fate of about three dozen militants held by US forces in Afghanistan has disrupted negotiations over a long-term security agreement between the two nations, Washington Post reported.

The prisoners are deemed especially dangerous as compared with the more than 3,000 which have already been transferred to Afghan control. This is said to be the main reason behind the United States decision to refuse the turn over of the prisoners.

US officials have denied the hand over of the prisoners unless president Hamid Karzai guarantees they will not be released.

This comes as tensions between Kabul and Washington mounted during the recent days after president Hamid Karzai accused United States of braking an agreement on the transfer and criticized Washington for colluding with the Taliban group.

The Obama administration considers the detainee problem a short-term disagreement unrelated to the strategic negotiations on Afghanistan’s future security.

But officials in president Karzai’s office warned that lack of trust that the United States has exhibited over the prisoners and other matters “certainly will have a negative impact on the bilateral security agreement.”