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KABUL: President Ashraf Ghani’s spokesman said on Wednesday that the Afghan government will gradually release 5,000 Taliban prisoners starting this week to pave the way for direct talks with the insurgent group aimed at ending the 18-year-long war in Afghanistan.
Taking to social media website the United States Special Representative to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad tweeted that the assertion signed by Ghani assured the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners.
(1/3) President Ghani issued a decree tonight to release up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners starting Saturday from a list provided by the Taliban. The Taliban had already agreed to release up to 1,000 prisoners from the Afghan government side.
— U.S. Special Representative Thomas West (@US4AfghanPeace) March 10, 2020
Ghani’s spokesman stated that the government will free 1,500 Taliban prisoners as a sign of goodwill starting Saturday, with another 3,500 to be unchained after talks begin, Sediq Sediqqi said on Twitter.
“The release will depend on the Taliban’s willingness to notably decrees attacks in the Afghanistan”, he added. The move attempt to resolve one of the key issues between the rebels and the Afghan government.
ماده سوم: بعد از آغاز و در جریان مذاکرات مستقیم میان هیات تعیین شده از جانب جمهوری اسلامی افغانستان و گروه طالبان، در هر دو هفته به تعداد 500 تن محبوس مربوط به گروه طالبان که مجموع شان به 3500 تن می رسد، مشروط به اینکه سطح خشونت ها به طور چشمگیر کاهش یابد، رها گردند.
— Sediq Sediqqi 🇦🇫 (@SediqSediqqi) March 10, 2020
The prisoner exchange was one of the key points in a US-Taliban agreement signed in Qatar on February 29.
Under the conditions of that peace deal, military troops of foreign will relinquish Afghanistan within 14 months, subject to Taliban security guarantees and a promise by the rebels to hold negations with Kabul.
READ MORE: UN Security Council supports US-Taliban peace deal
