KABUL – The fate of 600 detainees added to the Bagram prison, including around 50 foreigners mostly from Pakistan, since March 12 when the US and Afghanistan governments signed pact to hand over the control of prison to Kabul is unknown given that the deal addressed only the 3,100 detainees held when it was signed, and the US looks set to continue to make arrests and control at least part of its controversial prison after formally handing over responsibility to Afghans next week, a report said Thursday.
Around 50 foreigners, mostly from Pakistan and mostly held for years, are also not covered by the agreement, exposing them to the risk of indefinite detention reminiscent of Guantanamo Bay, it added.
“The United States appears reluctant to hand over many high value targets to the Afghan government and faces considerable challenges in moving the detainees,” it said.
That meant it was “likely that the United States will continue to control at least a portion of a detention facility after the September 9 handover”.
The Foundation said it was told by US officials they can still capture and detain suspects, and hinted at some reluctance to hand over all detainees in case they were released for the “wrong reasons”.
Lack of rules or transparency mean that releases could be open “to arbitrary decision-making and political horse-trading”, particularly as they are seen as a potentially powerful bargaining chip in talks with the Taliban, it said. The prison, which has sometimes been called Afghanistan’s Guantanamo Bay, holds rebel fighters detained by US-led forces in their decade-long war against Taliban insurgents.
Afghanistan and the United States signed an agreement for its transfer on March 9 and Kabul now says it expects to take over Bagram on Monday.
But the Open Society Foundation set up by US billionaire George Soros has criticised a short, six-month transition that masked inconsistences, left open the fate of third-country and new detainees, and risks rights abuses.
“The United States also appears to want continued detention powers in Afghanistan beyond September 2012, something which all Afghan officials interviewed for this report have categorically rejected,” the report said.
President Hamid Karzai had demanded that the prison be transferred before addressing long-term Afghan-US relations and possible legal immunity for US troops after the bulk of Nato combat troops leave in 2014.
The Foundation also raised concerns about the establishment of a new, Afghan regime of detention without judicial review, which could be subject to abuse.
Acting Deputy Spokesperson of the US State Department, Patrick Ventrell, during a briefing on Wednesday, said that US was clear about its objectives against Haqqani network.
“We’ve been pretty clear for a long time to put pressure on the Haqqani Network. That includes both the sanctions that we’ve put on individuals, but also military pressure as well”, he said while referring to the steps taken by ISAF forces on the Af-Pak border.
He was also asked about the possibility of a decision to designate Haqqani network as a foreign terrorist organisation and whether this could have a negative impact on the US-Pakistan relations.
The US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton is set to submit a report before the Congress by September 9th as to why the Haqqani network should not be designated a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO).
Ventrell, however, refused to divulge details of the report to be submitted by Secretary Hillary Clinton.
“Well, as you know - the Secretary does have a Congressional requirement to report to Congress, which she’ll meet. I don’t want to preview or prejudge what that might be. We’ll continue to target the Haqqani Network, but beyond that I don’t have anything to announce or preview at this time”, he stressed.
“Are you talking to Pakistan about this, ahead of the Secretary’s decision at the end of the week”, another journalist asked but the spokesperson said that this was a decision for the US government to make.
He also declined that the US has any contact with Haqqani network regarding the decision to blacklist them as FTO.
“This is a decision that we’ll make, but routinely when we make significant decisions, we’re in counterparts both with Congress and with international partners as appropriate, but I just don’t have anything to preview”, he stated when pressed more about the discussions with Pakistan on the contentious issue.