Afghanistan to release 5,000 Taliban prisoners if violence eases, paving way for peace talks
- First 1,500 will be freed on Saturday as ‘gesture of goodwill’, according to President Ashraf Ghani’s spokesman
- Release of prisoners had been major sticking point in negotiations between insurgents and government
The Afghan government said on Wednesday it would free 1,500 Taliban prisoners, while delaying the release of another 3,500 that the militants say must be set free for talks to begin under a peace deal reached with the United States.
The Taliban promised to open talks with the Afghan government as part of the accord reached with the United States last month to end 18 years of US involvement in war in Afghanistan.
The militants say the agreement requires the government to release 5,000 prisoners before talks begin. The government says the talks must begin and violence subside before it will free them all.
Sources have told Reuters the dispute arises in part because of different wording about the prisoner release in separate agreements the United States reached with the Taliban and the Afghan government.
President Ashraf Ghani has issued a decree ordering the release of an initial 1,500 prisoners, with the other 3,500 to be set free as conditions are met, Ghani’s spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said.