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Taliban refuses ceasefire call storing it for ‘Intra-Afghan talks’
In response to the ceasefire call, the Taliban responds that it will be discussed in the Intra-Afghan peace talks.
Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban political office spokesman, in an interview with a Syrian media, warns that if five thousand prisoners of the group are not released, the next option is war.
The presidential palace, in a press release, said that at the last meeting of the National Security Council it had been underlined that the prisoner release should continue based on the government’s policy.
The statement, however, expresses doubts about the prisoner release from the Taliban’s end.
President Ghani said, “I call on the Taliban to give a positive response to the legitimate demand of the United Nations, regional countries and the Afghan people, stop the war and reduce violence.”
However, Suhail Shaheen, the spokesperson of the Taliban political office in Qatar, has told a news agency that the ceasefire has been included in the agenda of the Intra-Afghan talks. Shaheen has added that if the 5,000 prisoners of the Taliban are not released, the war will continue.
Shaheen said, “If they want to resolve the situation in a political way, this is the right way. The other way is the military approach which they have chosen for the last 18 to 19 years unsuccessfully.”
This comes as Roland Cobia, the EU special representative in Afghanistan, has welcomed the prisoner releases saying that it would be much better with the violence reduction.
He underscored that the prisoner releases will be more acceptable with reducing violence adding that the “Intra-Afghan talks should be started before the entire release of prisoners.”
So far, some 361 Taliban prisoners have been released by the government and some 20 government prisoners by the Taliban.
Yet both the laterals have questions about the released prisoners; thus the release process has been paused.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan announced on Tuesday the release of American citizen Dennis Coyle from prison.
According to the ministry, Coyle’s mother had written to the leader of the Islamic Emirate demanding amnesty and the release of her son on the occasion of Eid. The Supreme Court considered time served sufficient and decided to release him.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that this action was carried out on the basis of humanitarianism and good faith, and it believes that such measures can strengthen trust between countries. The ministry also expressed hope that both countries, in the future, can find solutions to remaining issues through mutual understanding and constructive dialogue.
The Islamic Emirate also expressed appreciation for the cooperation of the United Arab Emirates in this matter.
Separately, for Coyle’s release, an American delegation, including Zalmay Khalilzad, former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan, met on Tuesday with Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Emirate.
The meeting was also attended by Saif Mohammed Al-Ketbi, Ambassador of the UAE in Kabul, and a member of the prisoner’s family.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Muttaqi stated that the Islamic Emirate has not detained any citizen of any country to achieve political objectives; rather, detentions were the result of legal violations, and individuals were released after completing judicial procedures.
At the meeting, Khalilzad praised the action of the Islamic Emirate and emphasized the importance of continuing discussions on all issues between the two countries, expressing hope for further progress in the future.
Muttaqi also stressed that Kabul and the UAE should provide standard consular services to their citizens, and that the Afghan government is fully prepared in this regard.
He thanked Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, for their constructive role in facilitating the release of the prisoner and referred to the UAE as a close friend of Afghanistan.
Earlier, Muttaqi had also praised the role of the State of Qatar in facilitating information exchange between the Islamic Emirate and the prisoner’s family.
Additionally, the UAE ambassador expressed his country’s readiness to play a role in humanitarian institutions and called such developments beneficial for everyone.
The United Kingdom has announced an additional £3 million (AFN 257 million) in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, aimed at supporting people affected by natural disasters and other shocks.
Richard Lindsay, in a post on X, said the funding will be used to provide essential nutrition supplies and related support to vulnerable populations.
The new allocation brings the UK’s total bilateral assistance to Afghanistan for the current financial year to £154 million (AFN 13.18 billion).
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