Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah agrees with the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners and 1,000 security forces under the group’s deal with the United States, a person close to the official told 1TV on Thursday.
Earlier, President Ashraf Ghani rejected the release of Taliban prisoners ahead of the negotiations which, according to the group’s deal with the United States, are expected to start on March 10. The deal requires the prisoner swap to happen as a confidence building measure before talks.
“We believe that all the issues on the draft of the agreement are confirmed and agreed, by both sides, after long and careful discussions, so the things on the peace agreement should be implemented without any delay,” Fraidoon Khawzoon of Abdullah’s side said as quoted by Reuters.
“Trust-building is very important to take the peace talks forward and releasing the 5,000 Taliban and 1,000 ANDSF members is a must,” he added, referring to Afghan government forces.
On Thursday, US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad who is visiting Kabul said that the US is committed to facilitating prisoner exchange.
“We must act on all fronts to clear the road of obstacles that slow our progress toward intra-Afghan negotiations. I once again call on all Afghans to rise to the occasion, put country first and not to lose this historic opportunity,” Khalilzad said
