Adding to a growing trend of nonviolent stays to the Taliban insurgency in Laghman province, Governor Fazlullah Mujadedi announced on Wednesday that seventeen Taliban insurgents including a commander surrendered their weapons to security officials and joined peace and reconciliation efforts.
The peaceful conclusion of this group of combatants' insurgency in Laghman provides an encouraging sign to those who are hopeful that peace negotiations between the Afghan government and Taliban leaders are on the horizon. According to Laghman provincial officials, over 300 insurgents have surrendered and joined the local peace process this year.
Mr. Mujadedi said that, along with their commander, Malik Hazrat, 17 fighters renounced their ties with the Taliban in Mehtarlam, the capital of Laghman, handing over their weapons to the government under the supervision of the National Directorate of Security (NDS).
"With the joining of these men in the peace process, security will improve in many areas in the province," Mr. Mujadedi said.
The defecting insurgents promised that they would not fight against the government anymore. They are now likely to be tapped by security officials for strategic intelligence on the Taliban and its operations.
Already, members of the group have confirmed suspicions that the Taliban has received aid from Pakistan.
"We received financial support from the ISI most of the time," said one surrendered insurgent who asked not to be named, referring to the Pakistani intelligence agency. "With the help of that money we targeted police forces and government institutions."
Tensions between Kabul and Islamabad have mounted recently as the peace process remains dormant, with many Afghan officials launching accusations against their Pakistani counterparts for supposedly providing covert support for the Taliban insurgency inside Afghanistan. However, President Karzai's trip to Islamambad to meet with Pakistani Prime Minster Nawaz Sharif earlier this week offered a glimmmer of hope that relations between the two South Asian neighbors may be improving.
The Taliban has not yet commented on the surrender of the eighteen Laghman insurgents.