On Thursday, the Pentagon announced that it had transferred Abdul Rabbani and Mohammed Rabbani, who were both arrested in 2002, from the Guantanamo Bay US detention facility in Cuba to Pakistan.
This brings the total number of people held at Guantanamo down to 32.
Republican President George W. Bush established the Guantanamo camp in 2002 to house foreign terrorism suspects following the 2001 hijacked plane attacks on New York and the Pentagon that killed about 3,000 people.
US “war on terror”
Critics have said that the camp symbolizes the excesses of the US “war on terror” because of harsh interrogation methods that amounted to torture.
When President Joe Biden, a Democrat, took office in 2021, there were 40 detainees, and he has expressed his hope of closing the facility.
However, the law prohibits the federal government from transferring Guantanamo detainees to US mainland prisons.
According to the Pentagon’s website
Abdul Rabbani was an Al-Qaeda facilitator, while Mohammed Rabbani was a financial and travel facilitator for prominent Al-Qaeda leaders.
In a statement, Pentagon stated:
“The United States appreciates the willingness of the Government of Pakistan and other partners to support ongoing US efforts focused on responsibly reducing the detainee population and ultimately closing the Guantanamo Bay facility.”
The Pentagon stated in its announcement that there are currently 32 detainees remaining, of which 18 are eligible for transfer.
Senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan of Jamat-e-Islami welcomed the transfer of the two brothers to Pakistan.
And he stated that they were detained without any case.
“Another good news. Ahmed Ghulam Rabbani and Abdul Rahim Ghulam Rabbani have reached Islamabad airport after being freed from Guantanamo Bay.
They were imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay for 21 years despite being innocent.
There was no trial, no court proceedings, no charges against them. Congratulations on their release. Thank you Senate of Pakistan.”
