U.S. Transfers Control Of Afghan Prison

A view of the Parwan Detention Facility

The United States has formally turned over control of a military detention center adjacent to Bagram air base to Afghanistan’s government.

The commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, General Joseph Dunford, said the transfer ceremony on March 25 “highlights an increasingly confident, capable, and sovereign Afghanistan.”

An agreement on the handover of the Parwan Detention Facility was announced on March 23.

The handover was originally scheduled for March 9 but was postponed when Washington and Kabul could not reach agreement on the handling of inmates viewed as dangerous by U.S. forces.

"The New York Times" reports that since then, the United States has received “private assurances” that detainees the United States considers to be threats would not be released.

The facility is being renamed the Afghan National Detention Facility at Parwan.

Based on reporting by AFP, Reuters, AP, and dpa