Taliban prisoner release faces technical issues

The Taliban technical team has started its work for four days in Kabul, but it hasn’t reached an agreement on the prisoner release.

Some sources close to the Taliban said that new conditions proposed by the government had challenged the process.

Jalaluddin Shinwari, the Taliban former Attorney General, said, “The latest conditions by the government have troubled the prisoner release.”

The government hasn’t revealed the new conditions, but sources said that the government urged the Taliban to reduce violence in exchange for the prisoner release – something that the United  Nations and the European Union also insist on.

Antonio Gutierrez, the UN Secretary-General, said that he believed it’s time for the Taliban and the Afghan government to stop the war while COVID-19 is outbreaking adding that he would fully support it.

There are beliefs that the more the prisoner release is delayed, the more will the Intra-Afghan talks be damaged.

This comes as the government and political movements haven’t reached an agreement over the Intra-Afghan Talks’ agenda and the formation of “high council of reconciliation.”

Fawzia Kufi, a member of the negotiating team, said, “There is a need for agreement between the political leaders to prepare the agenda.”

The Taliban prisoner release faced challenges, although the Taliban technical team had earlier reached initial agreements with the government to release 100 Taliban prisoners, supposedly five days back, in exchange for 20 government prisoners.