MONITORING (SW) – The U.S. on Monday welcomed release of prisoners by the Afghan government and the Taliban.
U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad said the move is an important step in the peace process and the reduction of violence.
"Both sides should accelerate efforts to meet targets specified in the U.S.-Taliban agreement as soon as possible. The potential for COVID-19 outbreaks in prisons poses a real threat and is all the more reason to move urgently," Khalilzad tweeted.
On Sunday, the Taliban released 20 government prisoners and handed them over to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Kandahar province.
The government freed 100 more Taliban prisoners on Sunday in line with the peace deal between the Taliban and the U.S. The number of Taliban inmates freed by the Afghan government now crossed 300. Javed Faisal, spokesman for National Security Council, has said a total of 361 prisoners havebeen released in line with the presidential decree.
On April 7, the Taliban pulled its technical team out of prisoner exchange talks with the government.
Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the group's Qatar office, accused the Afghan government of delaying "under one pretext or another" the release of an estimated 5,000 Taliban prisoners.
The Taliban have demanded the release of 5,000 of their militants in return for the release of 1,000 captives, including Afghan government officials and security personnel.
The government, however, insists on releasing them in phases along with intra-Afghan talks and a ceasefire in place.
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