Anas Haqqani and Two other Haqqani Members Released

Anas Haqqani and two other Haqqani network members, who are part of a prisoner swap for two Western hostages held by the Taliban group have landed in Qatar, three Taliban sources familiar with the deal said on Tuesday, according to reports.

Anas Haqqani and two other Haqqani network members, who are part of a prisoner swap for two Western hostages held by the Taliban group have landed in Qatar, three Taliban sources familiar with the deal said on Tuesday, according to reports.

“Our three prisoners had been freed on Monday night,” said one of the sources, a senior Taliban leader in Afghanistan, who declined to be identified because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the deal. According to Reuters.
“Soon after their release, they were flown to Doha and handed over to the political office in Qatar.”

The Afghan government’s decision to carry out the swap is seen as key to securing direct talks with the Taliban.
Anas Haqqani, Mali Khan, and Hafiz Rashid were prominent members of Haqqani network who were exchanged for the two foreign professors, were kidnapped in August 2016 from outside the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul.