Afghan traditional council frees Taliban prisoners

KABUL (AFP): The traditional Afghan Council, comprising thousands of prominent Afghans, agreed to releasing 400 Taliban prisoners, paving the way for an early start to negotiations between Afghan government and Taliban.

Jirga member Atefa Tayeb said, “In order to remove the hurdles for the start of peace talks, stopping bloodshed, and for the good of the public, the jirga approves the release of 400 prisoners as demanded by the Taliban.”

The resolution was passed at the end of a three-day ‘Loya Jirga’. The declaration calls for an immediate start to negotiations and cease-fire. The development looks to bring United States a little closer to returning its troops and ending its longest military engagement.  

The officials didn’t announce any dates for the negotiations, but are expected to begin as early as next week and will most likely be held in Qatar, where the Taliban maintains a political office.

On the occasion, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani praised delegates for their decision and urged the Taliban to stop fighting. Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen said that the decision was a good step, a positive step.

“The decision of the loya jirga has removed the last excuse and obstacles on the way to peace talks. We are on the verge of peace talks,” said Abdullah Abdullah, who has been appointed by the government to lead negotiations with the Taliban.

Former president Hamid Karzai said, “This is a very happy day. Based on the information I have the intra-Afghan talks would begin within two to three days after the release of the 400 Taliban prisoners.”

According to a list acquired by an international news agency, many of the inmates are accused of serious offenses, including many involved in attacks that killed scores of Afghans and foreigners, with more than 150 of them on death row.

The Afghan government has released almost 5,000 Taliban inmates, but authorities balked at freeing the final prisoners demanded by the Taliban.