Govt releases 3rd batch of Taliban prisoners consisting of 100 inmates

Monitoring Desk

KABUL: A third group of 100 Taliban prisoners were released at President Ghani’s decree, the National Security Council (NSC) confirmed on Sunday.

The government started the process on Wednesday by releasing 100 prisoners, followed by another 100 inmates on Thursday, followed by the third group announced on Sunday.

The government has vowed to release 1,500 Taliban prisoners to move the peace process forward.

Based on the US-Taliban peace agreement, 5,000 prisoners of the group should be released by the Afghan government, and 1,000 prisoners should be released by the Taliban, to begin intra-Afghan negotiations.

On Friday, Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said “unidentified” prisoners were released by the Afghan government after a Taliban delegation–tasked with coordinating with Afghan authorities–had already left Kabul after meetings with the government team had ended without results.

The Presidential Palace recently said the High Council of Peace and Reconciliation will be established for the leadership of the peace process. But politicians said they have not seen any new developments in this respect.

On Friday evening, Gen. Austin S. Miller, the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, met with the Taliban leadership in Doha.

Col. Sonny Leggett, spokesman for the US forces in Afghanistan, said the meeting was “part of the military channel established in the (US-Taliban) agreement,” and “the meeting was about the need to reduce the violence.” (TOLOnews)