Afghan government gains control of Bagram prison

Afghan authorities have taken control of Bagram prison from the US-led forces currently stationed in the war-ravaged country.

A transfer ceremony took place on Monday as Afghan Defense Minister Bismillah Mohammadi and General Joseph Dunford, head of the US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, finalized the agreement to hand over Bagram prison to the Afghan government.

“The transfer of the detention facility is an important part of the overall transition of security,” said Dunford, adding that “…this ceremony highlights an increasingly confident, capable and sovereign Afghanistan.”

The handover was scheduled to take place on March 9, but negotiations were delayed after the US said it would block the release of some detainees it considered dangerous. Afghan officials have now reassured Washington that dangerous militants will remain off the battlefield.

Since March 2012, when Washington and Kabul reached an agreement to fully hand over the Bagram prison to the Afghan government, more than 3,000 detainees have either been handed over to the Afghan authorities or released.

In November 2012, Karzai ordered Afghan forces to take control of the prison and accused US officials of failing to fully comply with the terms of the memorandum of understanding on detentions.

Under current plans, the United States and NATO will keep 352,000 personnel in Afghanistan, trimming down the number to 230,000 after 2015.

However, General Lloyd Austin, new commander of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), recently promised to keep a ‘larger-size force’ in Afghanistan, despite a declaration by NATO to reduce the number of foreign troops.

The US-led war in Afghanistan began in 2001. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but insecurity continues to rise across Afghanistan.