Conditional release of Taliban prisoners against peace accord: spokesperson

PESHAWAR: The Afghan Taliban on Wednesday said the conditional release of prisoners by President Ashraf Ghani was against the peace agreement signed on Feb 29 in Doha.

Reuters quoted spokesman for the Taliban in Doha Suhail Shaheen as saying that the peace accord between the Taliban and United States clearly mentioned that peace dialogue would kick off after release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners.

While, spokesperson for the Afghan president Sediq Seddiqi said 5,000 prisoners would be released if Taliban refrained from attacking Afghan forces.

Also Read: Taliban say peace talks with Afghan govt unlikely to take place on Tuesday

“Ashraf Ghani had signed the decree that would facilitate the release of some Taliban prisoners in accordance with an accepted framework for the start of negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government,” he stated in a tweet.

President Ghani has signed the decree that would facilitate the release of the Taliban prisoners in accordance with an accepted framework for the start of negotiation between the Taliban and the afghan government. Details of the decree will be shared tomorrow.

— Sediq Sediqqi (@SediqSediqqi) March 10, 2020

The British news agency said several official sources had confirmed that 1,000 Taliban prisoners were likely to be released within a week.

(2/3) I urge the two sides to sit down immediately for talks on this issue in Doha, Qatar to work out the details. The Afghan government has agreed to do so. When implemented, this will be a significant step in the peace process.

— U.S. Special Representative Thomas West (@US4AfghanPeace) March 10, 2020

(3/3) Despite these signs of progress, violence by the Taliban remains too high. We expect the Taliban to adhere to its commitments to reduce violence in order to allow for the release of prisoners to be implemented smoothly and the peace process to succeed.

— U.S. Special Representative Thomas West (@US4AfghanPeace) March 10, 2020

Taliban spokesperson said they never agreed to any conditional release of the prisoners.

ON March 9, Taliban had said peace talks with the Afghan government scheduled to begin on March 10 were unlikely to take place.                                                             

According to Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid no practical step had yet been taken regarding the release of Taliban prisoners by the government. He had said talks would not begin due to disagreement between rivals for presidency.