The Taliban said on Tuesday that they had released three Pakistani soldiers who were detained during border clashes last October, describing the move as a gesture made at the request of Saudi Arabia.
In a statement, the Taliban said the soldiers were captured on Oct. 12 during fighting along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The three were handed over to a Saudi delegation, the statement said.
The decision was taken “in respect of the holy month of Ramadan, the month of divine mercy and forgiveness,” and in response to what the Taliban described as a request from “the brotherly country of Saudi Arabia,” the statement added. It also referred to one round of last year’s negotiations between the Taliban and Pakistani delegation in Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan’s government has not publicly commented on the release.
The handover comes after months of strained relations between the Taliban administration and Islamabad. Border clashes late last year left dozens dead or wounded on both sides, according to officials.
Pakistan has repeatedly called on the Taliban to take action against Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, the Pakistani Taliban, whose militants Islamabad says operate from Afghanistan’s territory. The Taliban deny that the group has a presence in Afghanistan, A United Nations monitoring team, however, has reported that Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan has about 6,000 fighters based in the country.
Last year, Taliban and Pakistani representatives held two rounds of talks in Istanbul, one in Doha and another in Saudi Arabia. The first round in Doha resulted in a temporary cease-fire, but subsequent negotiations failed to produce a lasting agreement. Since then, the border crossings between the two countries remain shut to transit and trade, leaving heavy financial losses to investors.
