No intra-Afghan talks until prisoners’ release: Taliban

Monitoring Desk

KABUL: The Taliban will not participate in intra-Afghan talks until roughly 5,000 of its prisoners are released, its spokesman said on Monday.

“If our 5,000 prisoners – 100 or 200 more or less does not matter – do not get released there will be no intra-Afghan talks,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters by phone.

A pact signed between the United States and the Taliban in Doha on Saturday said that up to 5,000 jailed Taliban would be released by March 10, however Afghan president Ashraf Ghani on Sunday rejected the demand.

President Ashraf Ghani, who faces a political crisis following claims of fraud in his recent re-election, said he would not commit to a clause in the US-Taliban deal that calls for a massive prisoner exchange, something the militants have been demanding for years.

US-Taliban deal

The United States signed a landmark deal with the Taliban on Saturday, laying out a timetable for a full troop withdrawal from Afghanistan within 14 months as it seeks an exit from its longest-ever war.

The agreement is expected to lead to a dialogue between the Taliban and the Kabul government that, if successful, could ultimately see an end to the grinding 18-year conflict.

According to the accord, after an initial reduction of troops to 8,600 within 135 days of Saturday’s signing, the US and its partners “will complete the withdrawal of their remaining forces from Afghanistan within 14 months… and will withdraw all their forces from remaining bases”, the declaration stated.

Under the agreement, Taliban also agreed not to allow al-Qaeda or any other extremist group to operate in the areas they control.

Courtesy: (Reuters)