A day after the Taliban announced a three-days ceasefire over Eid al-Fitr, the Afghan government decided to release the group’s 2,000 inmates in response, Sediq Sediqqi said in a tweet.
“Pres. Ghani today initiated a process to release up to 2000 Taliban prisoners as a good will gesture in response to the Taliban’s announcement of a ceasefire during Eid. The AFG Gov is extending the offer of peace and is taking further steps to ensure success of the peace process,” Sediqqi said.
The Afghan government initially released as many as 1,000 Taliban prisoners but halted the process on May 11 after Taliban ramped up their attacks in the country.
Under a peace accord struck between the U.S. and the Taliban, the relevant sides are committed to put efforts to release prisoners as a confidence-building measure, with the coordination and approval of all relevant sides.
The agreement calls for the release of up to 5,000 jailed Taliban prisoners who were set to be released in exchange for up to 1,000 Afghan government captives by March 10.
As the Muslims Eid al-Fitr was approaching, the armed Taliban announced a three-day ceasefire with the Afghan government going into effect during the Eid-ul-Fitr days, which sparked welcomes from national and international figures.
Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani welcomed the Taliban’s announcement of ceasefire over the Eid days and instructed the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces (ANDSF) to comply with the three days-long truce.
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