Karzai asks US to transfer Bagram prison to Afghan authorities

KABUL): President Hamid Karzai has asked the United States President Barak Obama to completely transfer the Bagram prison to Afghan government.  

During an exclusive interview with Pajhwok Afghan News, Emal Faizi said Karzai had sent a letter to his American counterpart on the prison issue. Currently, the prison was not completely shifted to Afghan officials’ control.  

Karzai had asked the US to respect Afghanistan’s national sovereignty if they are wished to be its strategic partner. 

Meanwhile, Faizi also strongly rejected the United Kingdom Defence Minister Philip Hammond’s remarks that they would not shift Afghan prisoners to Afghanistan’s control. 

On Thursday, Hammond said they have some Afghan prisoners at their detention centers in southern Helmand province, but would not transfer them to Afghan government because prisoners were tortured in Afghanistan jails.

But Faizi said Afghanistan stance had long been clear that no foreign county reserved the right to have prisons in Afghanistan or put Afghans in jails.

According to Faizi managing prisons by foreign countries in Afghanistan was damaging the national sovereignty. 

He believed there might be problems in some Afghan departments but that does not mean that Afghan government could not take care of the prisoners.

mm/vp

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