Pakistan reluctant to take back fighters captured in Syria

The effort was made through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to repatriate at least four Pakistani captured fighters caught by Kurdish forces while fighting for the Islamic State in northern Syria

An international effort to repatriate Pakistan fighters captured by Kurdish groups in northern Syria has run into problems because of Islamabad’s reluctance to acknowledge their nationality or give guarantees about their safety, people familiar with developments said on Friday.

Representational image.

The effort was made through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to repatriate at least four Pakistani captured fighters caught by Kurdish forces while fighting for the Islamic State in northern Syria, the people cited above said on condition of anonymity.

However, there was an impasse between ICRC and Pakistan authorities over formalities related to the repatriation process. The Pakistani side has been reluctant to acknowledge or confirm the identity of the Pakistani fighters and other civilians being held in camps run by Kurdish groups, the people said.

Another point of contention has been the requirement of a sovereign guarantee for the safety of repatriated foreign fighters and prisoners and the Pakistani side has been unwilling to commit to this, the people added.

Over the years, the Pakistan government has denied reports that fighters from the Pakistani Taliban and other groups had gone to Syria to fight alongside Sunni rebels opposed to President Bashar al-Assad or with the Islamic State. Any acknowledgement of the presence of Pakistani fighters in Syria at this stage would be a potential source of embarrassment for Islamabad.

According to a confidential report, there have been around 21 Pakistani nationals, including civilians, detained in camps run by Kurdish groups in northern Syria since June last year. Some of the detainees are women.

Pakistan is among very few countries from which both Shia and Sunni fighters have gone to Syria. The Liwa Zainebiyoun, a pro-government militia in Syria has attracted Shia Muslims from north and northwest Pakistan, primarily Kurram district and Gilgit-Baltistan, since 2013. Several dozen Shia fighters have died in combat in Syria.

The Pakistani Taliban has claimed to have sent its men to fight with rebels in Syria, and there were of these fighters setting up a base in Syria with the help of Arabs who earlier fought in Afghanistan. The Pakistani Taliban was helped in these efforts by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a notorious anti-Shia terror group.

There were also reports of some 50 Pakistani fighters being killed in action by the Turkish Army and Syrian forces in northwest Syria in March 2020.