18 Taliban Prisoners Released by Pakistan and Afghanistan KABUL, Afghanistan - At least 18 Taliban prisoners, some of them prominent figures, were released by Pakistan and Afghanistan, with no guarantees that they would not return to the fight, Afghan and Pakistani officials said Saturday. Pakistani officials said that they were releasing seven Taliban prisoners to facilitate the peace process, while Afghan officials said they had requested the releases and welcomed the move. Afghan officials complained, however, that Pakistani officials had backed down on the expected release of one Taliban prisoner, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the one-time top military commander of the insurgents" movement. Afghan officials have long sought Mr. Baradar's release, viewing him as crucial to restarting peace talks with the insurgents. Separately, Afghan officials confirmed Saturday that the day before they had begun exchanging 11 Taliban prisoners for the release of a female member of the Afghan Parliament, who had been kidnapped by the insurgents last month, according to an Afghan official involved in the prisoner exchange, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. American officials are known to have been concerned about plans to release Taliban prisoners without any guarantees to make sure they do not return to combat roles, but a spokesman for the American Embassy in Kabul declined to comment. An official of the High Peace Council in Afghanistan said that the Pakistanis would not release Mr. Baradar, citing opposition from the Americans, who had arrested him in a joint operation with Pakistani officials. Mollawi Shahidullah Shahid, the spokesman for Afghanistan's High Peace Council, said the seven released by Pakistan were on a list given them by Afghan officials, including Mr. Baradar. "For some reason Pakistani officials did not release him," he said. The others have been released, and no conditions have been set on where they go. Most were expected to return to their families in Pakistan, he said. "We believe that those Taliban released from Pakistani prisoners are effective in the peace process and give a positive message to the Taliban as well," Mr. Shahid said. The releases were requested by President Hamid Karzai in a visit to the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, for talks with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif two weeks ago. Among those released was Mansoor Dadullah, the brother of Mullah Dadullah, a notorious Taliban commander killed in an American airstrike. Mr. Dadullah had been captured along with four other Taliban officials by the Afghans, but then was released in exchange for the freedom of an Italian journalist in 2007. Mr. Karzai was widely criticized for the exchange, especially after the Italian journalist's driver and translator were both savagely beheaded by the Taliban despite the deal. Mr. Dadullah was later arrested in Pakistan in 2008. Salman Masood contributed reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan.