Taliban break off talks with Afghan govt on prisoner exchange

KABUL (REUTERS): The Taliban broke off talks with Afghanistan government on a prisoner exchange today (Tuesday), the main point in the US-Taliban peace deal.

A spokesperson for the Taliban’s political office in Qatar, Suhail Shaheen said, “Unfortunately, the release of the prisoners is being delayed under one pretext or another. Therefore our technical team will not participate in fruitless meetings.”

In this regard, a spokesperson for the Afghan government said that it would maintain its work on the prisoner release plan, adding that the government urged the Taliban to not sabotage the process by making excuses now.

Last month, a three-member Taliban team arrived in Kabul from Qatar to begin the prisoner exchange process. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed the arrival of the Taliban team.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, Pompeo also travelled to Kabul and the Qatari capital of Doha in a bid to nudge the prisoner process forward.

Last week, the Afghan government said that they would release 100 Taliban prisoners who were sick or over the age of 50.

However, the Afghan government claimed that the Taliban were demanding the release of senior commanders involved in some of the most violent attacks in recent years.