Afghan President agrees to release Taliban prisoners before talks

KABUL: The Afghan government will complete a Taliban prisoner release to pave the way for peace talks to end nearly two decades of war, the country’s president said.

During an online discussion with the Washington-based Atlantic Council, President Ashraf Ghani said around 3,000 Taliban prisoners have already been released and the remainder will be released before the talks.

A peace deal signed by the US and the Taliban in February calls for up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners and 1,000 government prisoners to be set free.

“My colleagues and I have made the decision to release an additional 2,000 prisoners within a short period,” Ghani said. “Next week we should be able to inform the world of the next step.”

Ghani said it is still unclear how many government prisoners the Taliban are holding. “The number keeps shifting,” he told the think-tank. “We need clarity regarding the fate of those that are with them and assurance that the last person remaining with them is released.”

READ MORE: Afghan govt, Taliban free more prisoners under peace deal

Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen called Ghani’s words a “positive step” and said they would be willing to start peace talks within a week and once all prisoners were released.

Nearly 50 imprisoned Afghan policemen were released on Thursday, bringing the total number of government prisoners released so far to 500.

Ghani noted that Taliban members were in Kabul identifying prisoners being released from jails in exchange for 1,000 Afghan security personnel being held by the militants. 

“I think now we are on course, and next week we should be able to inform the world of the next step,” said Ghani, who started his second term in March after a controversy-marred presidential election.