No date set for arrival of Taliban delegation

Monitoring Desk

KABUL: The date for the arrival of a Taliban delegation to monitor the release of the Taliban prisoners is still unclear, the Office of National Security Council (ONSC) said.

Jawed Faisal, a spokesman for the ONSC has said that in order to accelerate the peace process, the Taliban should avoid violence and that the Afghan government is ready to kickstart the peace talks in Kabul.

“We will have discussions whenever the delegation (Taliban delegation) arrives in Kabul and then a hundred prisoners will be released on the basis of the decree by the president, with consideration of prisoners’ age, health condition, threat from coronavirus and other humanitarian aspects of the issues,” said Faisal.

“As we are at war, the list of prisoners is constantly changing,” added Faisal.

A Taliban spokesman on Friday said that a 15-member delegation from the group will visit Kabul where they will talk about the prisoners issues.

The names of the Taliban delegates are: Mawlavi Ziauddin Waqef, Abdul Hamid Akhundzada, Hafiz Abdul Qadeer, Abdul Zaher Noman, Mawlavi Abdul Fatah, Mullah Mohammad Ibrahim Mohajer, Abdul Hadi Mali Khan Akhundzada, Qari Abdullah, Mullah Atta Mohammad, Mawlavi Sediqullah Khabib, Zabiullah and Mohammad Nasim.

“A delegation that is able to identify and recognize the faces of the hostages,” said Jaluluddin Shinwari, the former attorney general in the Taliban regime, referring to the Taliban’s expected delegation format.

In a reciprocal move, the Taliban have committed to the release of at least 1,000 government forces currently taken hostage by the group.

The Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that due to the “unreadiness of the ICRC,” it is not confirmed yet when the Taliban delegation will visit Kabul.

“20 Afghan government forces and 100 Taliban will be released from the jails in the first phase,” said Sayed Akbar Agha, a former Taliban commander.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is responsible for providing facilities for Taliban representatives coming to Kabul.

“We hope that peace comes to Afghanistan,” said Musa Farivar, a university lecturer in Kabul.

Based on the US-Taliban agreement, 5,000 Taliban and 1,000 Afghan government forces taken hostage by the Talban should be released to kickstart the intra-Afghan talks. (TOLOnews)