“We never agreed to any conditional release of prisoners,” Suhail Shaheen, spokesman for the Taliban based in Doha, told Reuters by phone. The conflicting positions on the issue between the Taliban and Ghani’s government appears to stem from different wording in documents exchanged between the United States and the Taliban on the one hand, and the United States and government on the other. “It is properly explained in the peace accord that first 5,000 prisoners would be freed and then the Afghan dialogue would be initiated,” Shaheen said. Despite the accord between the United States and the Taliban, fighting has continued in various parts of the country. The government’s decision to release the 1,500 prisoners was a gesture of good faith and the Taliban should reciprocate, the official said.

Source: The Express Tribune March 11, 2020 13:07 UTC