Following the announcement of ceasefire by the armed Taliban, the Afghan government released a hundred of the group’s prisoners on Monday.
A hundred prisoners were released from Bagram custody based on President Ghani’s pledge and as a goodwill gesture, and the process will continue, said Intizaar Khadem, National Security Council’s head of peace and protection of civilians.
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.
After a short delay in the process of prisoner swap, the Afghan government decided to release as many as 2,000 Taliban inmates following the group’s announcement of ceasefire during the Muslims Eid holidays.
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The Taliban group welcomed the announcement of releasing its 2,000 inmates by the Afghan government, saying that it is also committed to the process of prisoner swap.
“Release of 2000 prisoners by the other side is a good step. The stipulation in Doha Agreement for release of 5000 prisoners was to create a conducive atmosphere of confidence. This process should be completed in order to remove hurdles in the way of commencement of intra-Afghan negotiations and to pave the way for further progress,” Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the armed group took to Twitter.
As of today, some 1,100 Taliban inmates have been released by the Afghan government while a total of 250 prisoners of the government were released by the armed group.
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