US insists on prisoner releases by Taliban, Afghan gov’t

The U.S. government insists that the Taliban and the Afghan government should come to a conclusion about prisoner releases.

Apparently, the U.S. is trying to convince the Afghan government to change its stand on releasing the five thousand prisoners of the Taliban.

The U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo said, “We continue to press all sides to stop posturing, start the practical discussion about the prisoner releases.” He also said, “We, the United States, has opened a door for you, the Afghan people, to come to the table to determine the future of your country. We will stand with you. We are ready to support you. Do not squander this opportunity.”

After the U.S.-Taliban deal is signed, the U.S. troops will decrease to 8,600 in 135 days, and in the next nine months, if the Taliban fully remains committed, the U.S. will withdraw from Afghanistan as a whole.

Donald Trump, the US President said, “There is a big question about the government of Afghanistan. We are getting along well with everybody. We have to get our people back home. It’s not fair. We don’t want to stay there for another 20 years. We don’t want to stay there for 100 years. We want our people back home.”

Now that the peace deal has been signed, the Taliban resumed their attacks on the Afghan forces which have faced criticism from the US officials.

Pompeo said, “The upsurge in violence in parts of Afghanistan over the last couple of days is unacceptable. In no uncertain terms, violence must be reduced immediately for the peace process to move forward.”

In the meantime, President Ghani has recently said that the Afghan government has no commitment over releasing five thousand prisoners of the Taliban, and it is not the US’s responsibility either. So the prisoner releases can be discussed in the Intra-Afghan talks.