Taliban Announce Visit of Iranian Delegation To Kabul To Discuss Prisoner Transfer

Hamdullah Fitrat, the Taliban's deputy spokesman, said that a delegation from the Iranian Ministry of Justice had arrived in Kabul to discuss the transfer of prisoners.

Following these talks, Afghan prisoners are supposed to be transferred from Iran to Afghanistan to serve their sentences, Fitrat said.

On Thursday, November 14, Hamdullah Fitrat, the Taliban's deputy spokesman, released an audio tape announcing that an Iranian delegation is scheduled to meet with the group's officials in Kabul to discuss the transfer of prisoners from the two countries.

He expressed hope that as a result of these talks, Afghan prisoners will be able to serve the remainder of their sentences in Afghan prisons.

Earlier, Askar Jalalian, the deputy minister of justice of the Islamic Republic of Iran, announced on Wednesday, November 13, that 1,000 Afghan prisoners would be returned to Afghanistan within the next two months.

He also clarified that he plans to travel to Kabul to discuss with the Taliban about these prisoners as well as the transfer of Iranian prisoners from Afghanistan.

The Taliban has not yet provided details about the composition of the Iranian delegation and the number of Iranian prisoners in Afghanistan.

Iran's deputy justice minister put the number of Iranian prisoners in Afghanistan at less than 10 and said that efforts were underway to transfer them using a "logical and agreed-upon method”.

ISNA news agency reported on Wednesday that the agreement for the transfer of convicts with Afghanistan was signed in 2006 and that the Taliban is also committed to this official agreement.

Previously, some experts have expressed concern about the uncertain future of Afghan prisoners after being transferred to Afghanistan.

Reports say that some of the Afghan prisoners in Iran may be former Afghan government employees or opponents of the Taliban, and the group is likely to treat them in a vindictive manner. There have also been concerns about the release of criminals by the Taliban.