The government agreed on Sunday to release the 400 “hard-core” prisoners after consulting a grand assembly of elders and other community leaders, known as a Loya Jirga. “The government ... yesterday released 80 Taliban convicts out of the 400 that the Consultative Loya Jirga sanctioned for release to speed up efforts for direct talks and a lasting, nationwide ceasefire,” said Javid Faisal, spokesman for the National Security Council. President Ashraf Ghani on Monday issued a decree to release the final batch of prisoners. The Taliban have always refused to talk to the government, dismissing it as a US “puppet”. But they agreed to power-sharing talks under the deal struck with the United States, on the withdrawal of its troops in exchange for Taliban security guarantees.

Source: bd News24 August 14, 2020 06:00 UTC