Row between Afghan govt, Taliban continues over release of prisoners
KABUL: In Afghanistan, row between the government and Taliban continues over release of Taliban prisoners.
Afghanistan said Taliban prisoners would be released after start of intra-Afghan negotiations and a significant reduction in violence.
Also Read: Ghani signs decree to release 1500 Taliban prisoners as part of efforts to secure peace deal
Advisor of the Afghan President Waheed Omer in a statement said the proposed list of Taliban prisoners was being assessed and that the inmates would be released gradually. The Taliban has rejected government’s plan for a gradual release of prisoners and said they would not attend the intra-Afghan negotiations unless all 5,000 prisoners were released.
ON Mar 11, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had signed a decree to release 1500 Taliban prisoners as part of efforts to secure a peace deal.
According to the decree, all 1500 prisoners were to be released within 15 days of the signing of the decree, with 100 prisoners walking out of Afghan jails every day.
The presidential decree required all prisoners to give a written guarantee not to return to the battlefield. In exchange, the Taliban had also agreed to hand over 1000 government troops.
On Mar 11, the Afghan Taliban had said the conditional release of prisoners by President Ashraf Ghani was against the peace agreement signed on Feb 29 in Doha.
Reuters had 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.
