A source said that the prisoner exchange of captured Haqqani Network members Anas Haqqani, Hafiz Rashid and Mali Khan for two kidnapped professors from the American University of Afghanistan, did not take place.

Three days earlier, President Ghani announced that the three Haqqani Network members would be “conditionally” released.

According to a source who spoke with Tolonews on Thursday, Anas Haqqani, Hafiz Rashid and Mali Khan have been transferred back to Bagram air base.

The three insurgent prisoners were expected to be handed over to the Qatari government and then handed over to the Taliban’s political office in Qatar, but sources told TOLOnews that this had not been done and that the planned exchange is stuck in an impasse.

“So far, no exchange has taken place; there is a vacuum of confidence on both sides. An exchange may take place whenever both Taliban and Americans are assured,” said Mawolana Jalaluddin Shinwari, a former official during the Taliban’s regime.

“The transfer of the professors to US authorities inside Afghanistan is time-consuming. Also, the issue of the explosion yesterday in Kabul might be a reason for the delay, and also there is a lack of mutual understanding and confidence between the Americans and the Taliban as well,” said Waheed Mozhdah, source close to the Taliban.