Taliban Release Three Pakistani Soldiers Captured in Border Clash

The Taliban announced the release of three Pakistani military personnel from custody, handing them over to a Saudi Arabian delegation.

According to a Taliban statement, the individuals were detained on October 12 of the previous year during border clashes. The release was made "out of respect for the advent of the holy month of Ramadan, the month of divine mercy and forgiveness, in positive response to the request from the brotherly country of Saudi Arabia, and on the occasion of hosting the negotiating delegation that arrived in Kabul last Monday."

Pakistan's government has not commented on the matter. Border clashes between Taliban forces and Pakistan in the final months of last year resulted in dozens killed and wounded.

Pakistan has urged the Taliban to address the activities and presence of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Afghanistan, which the Taliban deny. A United Nations monitoring group reported that TTP has approximately 6,000 fighters in Afghanistan.

The Taliban and Pakistan held two rounds of talks in Istanbul last year, one round in Doha -- which led to a ceasefire -- and one in Saudi Arabia, but subsequent discussions yielded no results.