DOHA, Qatar, May 31 (UPI) -- Qatar agreed to extend its travel ban on five Taliban militants exchanged one year ago for U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, according to reports.
The one-year limit on a ban forbidding the men to travel outside the gulf kingdom was set to expire June 1.
The men, Khair Ulla Said Wali Khairkhwa, Mullah Mohammad Fazl, Mullah Norullah Nori, Abdul Haq Wasiq and Mohammad Nabi Omari, were mid- to high-level Taliban officials who had been captured early in the war and held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
They were part of a May 2014 prisoner swap for Bergdahl, who was captured by the Taliban after reportedly walking off his post in Afghanistan five years ago.
"We are in close contact with our Qatari counterparts on this issue, and continue to work to make sure these individuals do not pose a threat to the United States, " CNN quoted a senior State Department official as saying. "The government of Qatar has agreed to maintain the current restrictive conditions on these individuals as we continue these discussions. All five remain in Qatar, where they remain subject to extensive monitoring as well as travel restrictions."
The Republican-controlled House Intelligence Committee earlier this month expressed concern about the possibility of the five being released, urging President Barack Obama to request Qatar make the travel ban permanent.
"If, as scheduled, Qatar permits these five former detainees to possess passports and travel to Afghanistan or Pakistan when the memorandum of understanding expires on June 1, they will be at liberty to play an even more direct role in attacks against the men and women of our military," they wrote at the time, according to USA Today.
In March, the Army charged Bergdahl with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. His case is undergoing review to determine if court-martial proceedings are appropriate.
Army officials said the charges carry a maximum sentence of life in military prison, forfeiture of pay and stripping of rank, but some legal experts believe that after five years of Taliban captivity, Bergdahl more likely faces a dishonorable discharge.
