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Afghan Prisoner Swap Falling Apart Amid Uncertainty About Inmates Whereabouts

Hasib Danish Alikozai

   WASHINGTON - Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, in a televised speech to
   the nation earlier this week, announced that his government would
   release three prominent Taliban members in exchange for two Westerners
   abducted by the Taliban as a confidence-building measure with the
   insurgent group.

   "We have decided to conditionally release three Taliban prisoners who
   have been detained outside of Afghanistan with the help and
   coordination of our international partners and have been kept in Bagram
   prison [north of Kabul] in Afghanistan for some time," Ghani said.

   The Western hostages are American Kevin King and Australian Timothy
   John Weeks who have been in Taliban's captivity since 2016 when they
   were abducted from the capital, Kabul. Both were professors at the
   American University of Afghanistan.

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