Afghanistan Begins Release Of Final 400 Taliban Prisoners

Afghanistan has released the first 80 of 400 Taliban prisoners, according to a spokesperson for the National Security Office.

Taliban officials said 86 prisoners were freed.

It is unknown when the remaining inmates will be freed.

Prisoner releases on both sides are part of an agreement signed in February between the US and Taliban.

It calls for the release of 5,000 Taliban held by the Afghan government and 1,000 government and military personnel held by the insurgent group as a goodwill gesture ahead of intra-Afghan negotiations.

The talks are expected to be held in Qatar, where the Taliban maintain a political office.

Several Afghan leaders said talks could begin by 20 August.

They will aim to end a war that has taken place since the Taliban government was removed from power in a US-led invasion in 2001, laying out a framework for a post-war Afghanistan.

Washington’s peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad spent a year and a half negotiating the peace deal aimed at allowing American troops to return home to end the country’s longest military engagement.

US troops have already started leaving and by November less than 5,000 troops are expected to still be in Afghanistan, down from nearly 13,000 when the agreement was signed on 29 February.

American and NATO troop withdrawal is contingent on the Taliban keeping their commitment to prevent militant groups using Afghanistan against the US or its allies.

The withdrawal is not tied to successful talks between the warring sides.

Last weekend, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani held a traditional council meeting to get a consensus on the release of a final 400 Taliban he said were accused of serious crimes, saying he could not unilaterally release them.

Some of the 400 have been implicated in bombings in Kabul.

During a televised talk with the US-based Council of Foreign Relations on Thursday, Mr Ghani warned of dangers they could present to lasting peace in Afghanistan.

Cover image: US Army.