Abdulqader Al-Mortadha, Chairman of Yemen’s National Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs, has affirmed the committee’s readiness to implement the prisoner exchange agreement.
In remarks carried by Al-Masirah TV, Al-Mortadha said the delay in exchanging prisoners’ lists was not on his side, stressing that the committee’s lists had been finalized prior to the latest round of talks in Muscat. He said the other party failed to submit its prisoners’ lists within the deadline stipulated under the Muscat agreement.
Al-Mortadha pointed to disagreements among parties affiliated with Saudi Arabia over the implementation of the prisoner exchange deal, noting that while some of these parties support moving forward with the exchange, others oppose its implementation at the current stage due to political calculations and internal differences.
He expressed hope that United Nations efforts would succeed in pushing the agreement toward implementation, reaffirming his committee’s readiness to act “positively and credibly” to carry out the deal.
Al-Mortadha described the exchange of prisoners’ lists as the most difficult phase in all previous agreements, saying it requires time, particularly given what he described as complications on the other side. He added that the opposing side is not a single entity but consists of multiple parties, each holding different groups of prisoners.
He concluded by stressing that the agreement was concluded on the basis of full implementation rather than partial execution, saying this remains the goal in the coming period.
