Kabul releases 500 Taliban prisoners to meet talks deal

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani orders the release of 500 Taliban as part of a new ceasefire that could lead into peace talks.

Some of the Taliban prisoners freed as part of agreement between the Taliban and Afghanistan government. Picture: AFP

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Friday ordered the release of 500 Taliban prisoners as part of a new ceasefire that could lead into long-delayed peace talks.

Mr Ghani said the militants would be freed during the Eid al-Adha holiday, which started on Friday and has prompted a national ceasefire for three days.

The release would complete the government’s pledge to free 5000 Taliban fighters as outlined in a deal the insurgents signed with Washington, he said.

“To show goodwill and accelerate the peace talks, we will release 500 Taliban prisoners in response to the group’s three-day ceasefire announcement.”

However, the 500 inmates are not on the original list of 5000 demanded by the Taliban.

Kabul authorities have already released 4600 of those prisoners but are hesitating about the release of the final 400, deeming them too dangerous.

“I do not have the right to decide on the release of those 400 Taliban prisoners who are accused of serious crimes,” Mr Ghani said, adding that a gathering of Afghan elders would decide their fate.

The Taliban, who have insisted on the release of those 400 militants, did not immediately comment.

The US-Taliban accord signed in February stipulated Kabul would release 5000 insurgents in return for 1000 government forces held captive by the militant group. Late on Thursday, the Taliban claimed they had completed the release of all 1000 government prisoners.

The contentious prisoner swap is a key precondition for peace talks. Both Mr Ghani and the Taliban signalled this week they were ready for talks after Eid, provided the prisoner swap is complete.

Under a deal signed by the Taliban and the US in February, “intra-Afghan” talks were slated to start in March, but were delayed amid political infighting in Kabul and as a contentious prisoner exchange dragged on.

A car-bomb that killed at least 17 people in the country’s east just hours before the truce came into effect underlined the scale of the challenge that lies ahead. The car-bomb exploded as crowds shopped ahead of Eid in the city of Puli Alam in eastern Logar province.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the blast had “nothing to do” with the insurgents, while Islamic State did not comment.

As the third official truce in nearly 19 years of war started hundreds of worshippers went to mosques across the capital where they were patted down by armed guards before offering prayers inside. There were no immediate ­reports of any fighting in the country.

US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who led negotiations with the Taliban, is visiting ­regional leaders including Mr Ghani in Kabul to push for a ceasefire extension. Since signing the February deal, the Taliban has largely ­refrained from attacking cities and has not hit US troops. But it has conducted near-daily ­attacks on Afghan forces and ­civilians.

AFP