Afghanistan authorities to release 600 Taliban terrorists

Afghan authorities on Thursday said it will release 600 prisoners it had deemed “too dangerous” in the hope of getting peace talks going, a day after they had refused to release the captives.

Disagreement over about 600 prisoners from a total of 5,000 the Taliban want released has prevented the launch of US-brokered peace talks aimed at ending nearly 19 years of war since the group was ousted.

While releases by both sides have taken place, the Afghan government has said it does not want to release some prisoners for security reasons and its Western allies also object to some of them being set free.

“They have given us another list, the release process will continue but direct talks should also start immediately,” Javid Faisal, spokesman for the National Security Council, told Reuters.

“The government will start the process of release in the coming few days and will complete the release whether the Taliban agree or not,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mohammed Umer Daudzai, Afghanistan’s newly appointed special envoy for Pakistan, in an interview, told Arab News that his primary focus would be to ensure lasting peace in Afghanistan and maintain strong ties with Pakistan, especially after Islamabad’s key role in the Afghan peace process earlier this year.

Source: Pak Observer