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Taliban rejects government’s conditional prisoner release
Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban’s spokesman in Doha said that the group had never agreed to the conditional release of the 5,000 prisoners from Afghan jails.
It comes as on Tuesday President Ghani issued a decree to release 1500 Taliban prisoners, an act for removing obstacles ahead of the intra-Afghan talks.
The remaining 3500 prisoners would be released after a tangible reduction in violence by the Taliban and all released prisoners will have to give “a written guarantee to not return to the battlefield.”
But in an interview with a Pakistani the News, Shaheen said that they did not make such an agreement with the US on 29th February in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
“We never made any such commitment. It is properly elaborated in the peace accord reached with the US in Doha on February 29 that some confidence-building measures would be taken prior to initiation of the intra-Afghan dialogue,” Shaheen said.
Meanwhile, a senior Taliban commander in Ghazni has told the News, “There is no way we can accept this latest demand of the Afghan government. Our fighters are mujahideen and they would always fight for freedom of their country and Islamic Sharia in Afghanistan.”
The US Army has also begun pulling out troops from Afghanistan as part of the agreement with the Taliban. The US forces will be reduced from around 14000 forces to 8600 soldiers in 135 days after the deal.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US special representative for Afghanistan, has questioned Pakistan’s commitment to the welfare of the Afghan people, citing Islamabad’s policies over the past three decades.
Khalilzad said in a post on X that Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif advocated for the rights of Afghan women during his speech at the UN General Assembly on Friday.
Sharif said: “Fundamental rights of the Afghan people — especially women and girls — must be respected.”
Responding to the remarks, Khalilzad said Pakistan’s policies over the past 30 years raise questions about Sharif’s commitment to Afghan welfare.
He cited Pakistan’s support for militant groups against US forces and what he described as the poor treatment of Afghan refugees as examples.
Khalilzad also said Afghanistan and Pakistan need and should have much better relations, adding that “a reset is necessary.”
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met with the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Rabab Fatima, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X that Misri underscored the need to keep addressing the humanitarian needs of the Afghan people as a priority.
Misri also appreciated the role of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and reaffirmed India’s continued cooperation with the United Nations on Afghanistan.
The meeting comes as Afghanistan continues to face humanitarian and economic challenges, with international agencies warning of significant needs among the Afghan population.
Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi has called for pragmatic and coordinated international engagement with Afghanistan, saying the country’s long-term stability is closely linked to the security and sustainable development of Central Asia.
Speaking during the general debate of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday, Tileuberdi said humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan remains essential but alone cannot break the cycle of poverty, displacement and dependency.
He said Kazakhstan supports a “pragmatic, coordinated and step-by-step” approach to international engagement with Afghanistan, with the United Nations playing a central role.
Tileuberdi also said Kazakhstan is working with the UN to operationalize the United Nations Regional Centre for the Sustainable Development Goals for Central Asia and Afghanistan in Almaty.
He said the success of the centre should be measured by the results and assistance it delivers to the region.
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