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Afghan government releases 900 Taliban prisoners

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(Last Updated On: May 26, 2020)

The Afghan government has released another 900 Taliban prisoners from jails on Tuesday, the government confirmed.

The Office of the National Security Council said that the step was taken “to advance the cause of peace, including the continuation of the bilateral ceasefire and the immediate start of direct negotiations.”

Ariana News’ correspondent Shahpoor Farahmand reported from Parwan province that 581 inmates were released from Bagram jail while the rest were released from Kabul and other provinces.

According to him, the released prisoners have taken an oath never to return to the battlefield.

Many released inmates have told that they would follow their leader’s directions while some others said they would continue fighting until foreign troops leave Afghanistan.

Mohammadullah, a prisoner who spent 16 years of his life in jail, says that he would pick up weapons again unless the American forces withdraw Afghanistan.

“I will go for my previous job and continue Jihad (Holy war),” Mohammadullah added.

The Afghan government released a batch of 100 Taliban prisoners on Monday from Parwan jail, so far, 2000 Taliban inmates have been released, while the Taliban has released 200 government inmates only.

Meanwhile, the Taliban militant group has welcome the government’s move and call it as a gesture of goodwill.

“Release of 2000 prisoners by the other side is a good step. The stipulation in the Doha Agreement for the release of 5000 prisoners was to create a conducive atmosphere of confidence. This process should be completed in order to remove hurdles in the way of commencement of intra-Afghan negotiations and to pave the way for further progress which is to follow,” the group’s political spokesman, Suhail Shaheen said in a tweet on Tuesday.

He added that the Taliban is committed to the “release of prisoners on its own part.”

It comes as the two sides declared a 3-day ceasefire during the Eid Ul-Fitr.

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Girls’ education is a ‘vital issue’ for Afghanistan: Karzai

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(Last Updated On: April 25, 2024)

Former president Hamid Karzai said in a meeting with Iran’s ambassador and special representative, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, that education of girls was a “vital issue” for Afghanistan.

Karzai said he appreciated Iran’s cooperation and its standing with the Afghan people, especially Iran’s contributions to education in Afghanistan.

During the meeting, Karzai said peace and stability in the region are in the interest of all regional countries.

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Uzbekistan’s humanitarian aid arrives in Balkh

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(Last Updated On: April 25, 2024)

A shipment of humanitarian aid from Uzbekistan was handed over on Thursday to the local officials of Balkh province in the trade port of Hairatan.

Local authorities said the aid, which includes flour, oil, wheat, sugar and meat, has been handed over by Uzbekistan’s Surkhandarya governor to the governor of Balkh.

The governor of Surkhandarya stated the purpose of sending this aid was to support the people of Afghanistan and stressed the need for the development of good relations between the two countries.

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Afghanistan’s problems caused more damage to Pakistan than 3 wars with India: Durrani

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(Last Updated On: April 25, 2024)

Islamabad’s special envoy for Afghanistan Asif Durrani said on Wednesday that Pakistan has suffered more due to Afghanistan’s internal situation than Pakistan has suffered in three wars with India in terms of blood spilt and finances drained.

Durrani said at a one-day International Conference titled “Pakistan in the Emerging Geopolitical Landscape”, which was organized by the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) and the German Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), that over 80,000 Pakistanis died in the two decades of the War on Terror and that his country was still counting its dead and injured.

“After the withdrawal of NATO forces, it was hoped that peace in Afghanistan would bring peace to the region. However, such expectations were short-lived,” he said.

He also stated that attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group on Pakistan’s border areas increased by 65 percent, while suicide attacks increased by 500 percent.

“The TTP’s enhanced attacks on Pakistan while using Afghan soil have been a serious concern for Pakistan. Another worrying aspect is the participation of Afghan nationals in these attacks,” he said.

Durrani also said Pakistan had suffered geopolitically since the Soviet Union invaded the neighboring country.

“The post-9/11 world order has negatively impacted Pakistan. Apart from losing 80,000 citizens’ lives, including 8,000 law enforcement agency personnel, the country’s economic opportunity cost is estimated at $150 billion,” Durrani said.

Talking about the future outlook for Pakistan in the regional context, Durrani said that while “our eastern neighbor is likely to continue with its anti-Pakistan pursuits, the western border poses an avoidable irritant in the short to medium term.”

However, he said Pakistan can overcome its difficulties with Afghanistan, including the TTP challenge.

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