KABUL (SW) – The Taliban on Saturday announced to have freed 28 captive security forces in Herat province.
The group’s Qatar office spokesman, Suhail Shaheen, said in a statement that these men have been freed in connection with the prison swap as part of the peace deal between the U.S. and Taliban.
Since beginning of the process, the Taliban claimed to have freed at least 180 prisoners in Kandahar, Laghman, Kunduz, Badghis and Herat provinces, but the Afghan government has only confirmed the release of 123 captive security forces while the rest are said to be civilians.
On the day of his inauguration, President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani ordered the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners as part of efforts to bring peace and control the spread of coronavirus. Since the orders were issued, at least 1,000 Taliban prisoners have been released from prisons in 12 stages.
The National Security Council spokesman, Javed Faisal has said that the Taliban should stop killing Afghans and prepare as soon as possible for direct talks with the Afghan government. He said there was no justification for the delay in starting negotiations.
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