KABUL (SW) – The US National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien has urged Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani to commence the intra-Afghan talks.
The US NSA had discussed the need to start inter-Afghan talks with President Ghani during a phone call, official statements said. “NSA O’Brien had a great phone call with President @ashrafghani today to discuss the need for intra-Afghan talks to start without delay. Reiterated U.S. support for a sovereign, democratic, and unified #Afghanistan that never again serves as a source of international terrorism”, the NSC tweeted.
In response to this, Sediq Sediqqi, spokesman for the Afghan President said the two sides exchanged views on prisoners’ swap. “ … Pres. Ghani stressed the need for the start of the direct negotiation between the Taliban and the government. Both emphasized the importance of a ceasefire for a durable peace sustaining the gains of the past 19 years, and The U.S. continued and strong support for the Afghan security forces who have made tremendous sacrifices for the Afghan people”, he said.
According to the official sources, the Afghan government has so far released 90 of the Taliban's 400 remaining prisoners. President Ghani signed the decree for the release of these 400 Taliban prisoners after approval of the consultative ‘Loya Jirga’.
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