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Afghan, Taliban delegations discuss prisoner release deal

Thursday, 02 April 2020 2:22 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 02 April 2020 3:14 PM ]

Amin Alemi
Press TV, Kabul

After weeks of ifs and buts on the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners, the Afghan government and the militants have finally sat down for direct talks. The negotiations have been held between a delegation of the Taliban and representatives from the Afghan government in capital Kabul.

The Afghan government released the list of its negotiator team just recently. Kabul’s move was widely welcomed even by self-declared president Abdullah Abdullah.

Following the initial talks on prisoner release, Afghan officials now say the Taliban have to avoid making excuses for not engaging in peace negotiations and show their goodwill.

The matter of the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners was first highlighted by a top Taliban negotiator after the militant group signed a peace deal with the US back on February 29.

The Taliban militant group says it has already reached an agreement with Washington on the release of its prisoners and wants Kabul to also approve the issue.

The Afghan government, however, has so far resisted the call, saying the Taliban need to give assurances that their incarcerated members won’t go back to fighting once released. The odds are that the deadlock could be resolved with the launch of direct talks between Kabul and the Taliban.

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