Afghans hope other Taliban chiefs surrender, too

Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan – Elated by the reported surrender of the former Taliban foreign minister, Afghan officials said Saturday they believe other Taliban figures may give themselves up.

Still, they warned that holdouts of the one-time ruling militia and the al-Qaida terrorist network continue to threaten Afghanistan’s security.

Mullah Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil, who served as foreign minister until the Taliban were driven from power, turned himself in to Afghan authorities Friday in Kandahar, according to U.S. military officials. U.S. defense officials said Muttawakil was being detained and questioned by American officials at the base.

“This is a moment that we have been waiting for – to make sure that these individuals face trial, either in Afghanistan or outside Afghanistan, for their actions and deeds in the past,” said Omar Samad, a spokesman for the Afghan Foreign Ministry.

“It’s about time that a known Taliban figure who held a position of authority is turning himself in, and hopefully others will be caught later,” he said.

Foreign Minister Abdullah said it was important that Taliban figures were in custody and “not allowed to undermine the stability of the interim government of Afghanistan.”

“The pockets of al-Qaida or the Taliban that are left can pose a threat,” said Abdullah, who uses one name.

Muttawakil could provide important information about the movements of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar and al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden in the final days before the Islamic movement’s collapse. Both Omar and bin Laden remain at large.

U.S. officials have not said whether they plan to transfer Muttawakil with other Afghan war detainees to the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay. Another top Taliban leader, former army chief of staff Mullah Fazel Mazloom, is among the 220 prisoners being held there.

The Afghan government wants Muttawakil put on trial, whether by U.S., Afghan or international authorities, said Omar Samad, a spokesman for the Afghan Foreign Ministry, who scoffed at Muttawakil’s reputation in some quarters as a Taliban moderate.

Although authorities are concerned about the threat posed by Taliban holdouts, the government on Saturday released 320 captured Taliban fighters, a gesture of reconciliation as the new administration focuses on rebuilding a country shattered by decades of war.

In a brief speech before shivering prisoners lined up in the freezing weather on a field in front of the presidential palace, interim Afghan President Hamid Karzai told the men to go back to their homes.

“Instead of using guns, work and earn money,” he said.

All of the men wore civilian clothing. Most appeared desperately poor and wore sandals or cheap plastic shoes. One wore plastic bags on his feet instead of socks.

Also Saturday, Karzai signed a measure restoring freedom of the press, speech and assembly, in line with the 1964 constitution.

Meanwhile, bad weather on Saturday hampered a U.S. search team trying to reach a remote spot in the eastern Afghanistan’s mountains where a CIA spy drone fired at several people last week.

Officials do not know who was killed in the attack by the remote-controlled Predator but suspect they could have been top al-Qaida members. Lt. Cmdr. Matt Klee, spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said the more than 50 U.S. soldiers dropped off by helicopters a day earlier did not make much progress.