Karzai won but Britain still holds Afghans

Finally the long wrangle between Kabul and Washington on the handover of Bagram jail has ended. There are reports that British forces are holding many hundred Afghans in their custody in Helmand.

Finally the long wrangle between Kabul and Washington on the handover of Bagram jail has ended. There are reports that British forces are holding many hundred Afghans in their custody in Helmand.
The detention centre at the Bagram air base has been a bone of contention between President Hamid Karzai and his counterpart in Washington. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed a year ago but it did not lead to the transfer. Instead the handover was delayed and two deadlines were broken.
A new MoU was negotiated this month in Washington. On Mar 25 Afghan security forces took control of the detention centre including 38 individuals considered top security risks by the US who are worried they would be released by Afghan authorities. The government has assured the US the prisoners will be detained according to Afghan laws.
Dr Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, in charge of the transition process, told Killid it was a historic day for Afghanistan. “The Americans accepted our principled position based on which the trial of every prisoner would take place inside the country,” he observed
The transfer of detainees has been progressing in fits and starts since the first MoU was signed in March 2012. According to General Mohammad Farooq, commander-in-chief of military police, roughly 4,000 prisoners have been handed over to Afghan custody.
A part of the Bagram detention centre was also handed over to the Afghan government under the previous agreement.
Afghan authorities have released 1,376 prisoners held at Bagram after investigation of their dossiers by the National Directorate of Security which were forwarded to the Afghan Review Board that took the decision, the general told Killid.
General Joseph F Dunford Jr., commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), described the transfer of Bagram detention centre as a sign of Afghanistan’s sovereignty. He added that the transfer would not have been possible without the sacrifice of Afghan National Police (ANP) and Afghan National Army (ANA).
Under the terms of the second MoU Afghans arrested by international forces have to be handed over to Afghan security officials within 96 hours. Foreigners that have been under detention with foreign forces will remain in their custody.
Retired General Abdul Wahid Taqat thinks it is not unlikely that at least some of the “dangerous prisoners” may be released by President Karzai. They could be bargaining chips for the president in negotiations with the Taleban. “Karzai wants to tell Taleban I released your people, even prisoners considered dangerous,” he told Killid.
In his opinion the closure of detention centres by the Afghan government was critical for the resumption of peace talks.
Defence Minister General Bismillah Khan Mohammadi said at the hand-over ceremony in Bagram that Afghan forces were capable of safeguarding the detention centre. “We have been preparing for this responsibility,” he said. He also gave his solemn commitment to respect the human rights of the detained individuals.
Meanwhile, the British daily The Guardian has published reports of tens of Afghans held in “secret” in the only prison run by British forces in Helmand.
Political analyst Mohammad Hasan Haqyar said their detention was illegal.
There has been tension between the Karzai government and the US military on the question of whether they should be detaining Afghans at all. With neither side willing to bend the president has sought to keep the detentions minimum by insisting that US forces take part in fewer engagements. Only if American troops come under attack can there be any unilateral engagements. Otherwise operations have to be carried out by only Afghan forces.