Baradar, who had been
held in a secret location, used to be the organization's
second-in-command, after Mullah Mohammed Omar himself.
"Afghan President's
office welcomes the release of Mullah Baradar from jail in Pakistan,"
Aimal Faizi, spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, said on
Twitter.
Pakistani officials this month announced their plans to release Baradar "in principle."
Baradar was captured in
2010 in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, which is known to be a haven
for many militants from across the country and its bordering regions.
This is the second
peaceful overture by the newly elected Pakistani government to
neighboring Afghanistan. On September 7, it released seven Taliban
figures to facilitate the peace process.
That release came just
two weeks after Afghan President Hamid Karzai visited the capital of
Islamabad and stressed Pakistan's assistance in a path to peace. Karzai
has long pushed for Baradar's release; his government was suspected to
be in secret talks with the wanted militant when he was captured.
The Afghan Taliban said
this month that it welcomed the Pakistani government's plan to release
Baradar and that it was assessing the wider situation.
"Pakistan's move to
release seven top commanders at the weekend and plans to release Mullah
Baradar is a positive development. We'll respond as things shape up over
the coming days and weeks," spokesman Zabiullah Muajhid told CNN at the
time.
A spokeswoman for the
U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Meghan Gregonis, had said Pakistan and
Afghanistan should have proper coordination to "ensure releases are
effected in a responsible manner."
Baradar had been under
United Nations sanctions since February 2001, with his assets frozen and
travel banned. The U.N. had forbidden selling weapons to him.
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