Hamid Karzai wants Afghan prisoners in his hands

Hamid Karzai, the Afghan President wants to take control over the peace process with the Talibans. The man asked the US forces to relinquish ownership over the Bagram detention facility within a month. He also added that he wanted to see all Afghan citizens held by the coalition troops passed back in their country’s hands.

Earlier this week the US announced it was going to release the senior Taliban members it held in detention at Guantanamo Bay in order to speed up the peace process. Moreover, they added they were going to open an office in the Gulf state of Qatar. Despite the fact that the move was welcomed, Karzai was reserved because his office was not involved in the beginning.

"Any peace process without Afghanistan's government in the lead is meaningless," one official told the AFP news agency. "The US officials that we are in contact with say that once the office is set up and talks gets underway the lead will be given to Afghanistan's government. Without that no talks could succeed but so far, the Afghan government has not been involved."

The Talibans stated they wanted to talk peace with the US and its Western allies and excluded Karzai and his office. As a result Karzai wished to take control of as most Taliban prisoners as possible. A presidential statement said that keeping Afghan citizens in prison without having the go through a trial is against the constitution.

Instructions have already been issued "to complete their job regarding the handing over of the prison and other prisoners who are held by foreign forces."

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