As a part of efforts for stepping up the Afghan peace talks and as a goodwill gesture, the Afghan government once again released a score of Taliban fighters it was holding in its prisons, the statement by the provincial media outlets read.
The released Taliban prisoners received 5,000 Afghanis from the provincial governor, Shah Mahmoud Miakhail, the statement added.
Mohammad Nader Sediqqi, head of the provincial prison, confirmed the aforementioned Taliban inmates were released at a President Ghani’s decree, adding that as of today, at least 64 prisoners of the Taliban group have been released.
As a confidence-building measure, the Afghan government and the armed group must work with the coordination and approval of all relevant sides to move the process of prisoner swap forward — a main part of the agreement reached between the United States and the insurgents.
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, but the process was delayed due to several reasons.
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