KABUL (SW) – Sediq Seddiqi, a spokesman for the Presidential Palace, has said the government has released a number of remaining Taliban prisoners.
In a series of tweets, he said the exchange process is a bilateral one, and the government is closely monitoring it at every stage. He added that the Afghan government has fulfilled its obligations in the peace process. According to him, the government's commitments in the peace process will be fulfilled in the light of the decisions of the consultative ‘Loya Jirga’.
“The Afghan Government delivers on its commitments in the peace process in line with the mandate given by the Consultative Peace Jirga. We expect the Taliban to live up to their commitments on the release of the remaining ANSDF (Afghan National Security and Defense Forces) captives”, he said, urging the insurgents to free the captive members of the Special Forces.
As per reports, the Afghan government has so far released 200 out of the remaining 320 Taliban prisoners from various prisons.
On Tuesday, the Taliban released six captive commandos from their custody. With the release of prisoners on both sides, a government negotiating team is scheduled to travel to Doha for direct talks with Taliban representatives.
The spokesman for the High Council for National Reconciliation, Feredon Khwazun, said this morning that the process of exchanging of prisoners has begun and that the completion of this process would pave the way for the start of intra-Afghan talks.
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