Karzai orders transfer of US prison to Afghan control

KABUL): President Hamid Karzai, citing reports of human rights violations, on Thursday ordered the transfer of the US forces-run  detention facility at the Bagram airfield in central Parwan province to Afghan control within a month, his office said.

The order comes after Karzai was briefed on a report by the chairman of the Constitutional Oversight Commission, Gul Rahman Qazi, the President Office said in a statement.

The report detailed many cases of violations of Afghan Constitution and other applicable laws of the country, the relevant international conventions and human rights at the prison, the statement said.

It said Hamid Karzai has assigned a commission to transfer the Bagram Prison fully to Afghan government control within a month’s time effective today.

The same commission was initially tasked on January 9, 2010 to complete the transfer of the prison from the Americans within one year from January 2011 until January 2012.

The facility was built within the sprawling US military base at Bagram, north of Kabul after the US-led invasion in 2001.

pr/ma

Visits: 2