Afghan government has released 200 more “hard-core” Taliban prisoners in exchange for four commandos the group was holding, a source told 1TV on Wednesday.
With the release, there are now 120 Taliban prisoners remaining.
Fraidoon Khwazoon, a spokesman for High Council for National Reconciliation, told 1TV that the negotiating team will travel to Doha on Thursday.
The captives who were released by the Taliban were among eight commandos who had been taken by the group during an operation two years ago in Ajristan district of central-eastern Ghazni province, sources said.
First Vice President Amrullah Saleh said that Taliban handed over the commandos in Kandahar province and that the group was holding no more commandos.
He said that six Taliban prisoners were on the blacklist of foreign countries and families of the victims have launched a campaign that relations would deteriorate if Afghan government releases them.
“That is why we suspended and told the international community particularly US that either NATO and the West coalition speak to us with one voice or we won’t consider one country to be representative of another country,” Saleh said.
