Afghan government releases 5600 Taliban prisoners, as peace negotiations continue to stall

KABUL: The Afghan government has released 5600 Taliban insurgent prisoners, as a part of the conditions ahead of the peace negotiations between the two warring parties.

On Wednesday, the United States' Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad met with senior Taliban members in Doha including the Islamic Emirate's deputy leader Abdul Ghani Baradar, as the two sides discussed issues around the implementation of US-Taliban peace agreement and the release of remaining prisoners.

The causes of the unprecedented increase in violence in the country were also under discussion, as according to a spokesman for the Office of the President Sediq Sediqqi, "What the Taliban has said and showed in action have weakened the peace process" adding that "the continuation of violence and expressing strange statements and even raising the issue of prisoners itself creates barriers for peace."

Furthermore, as a reflection of the growing discontent and frustration around the brittle peace negotiations, the Speaker of the Meshrano Jirga (or the Upper House of Parliament) stated that "the Afghan government as part of its commitments to the world and the US, released over 5,000 Taliban prisoners, but the Taliban who signed the agreement with the US is not committed to the contents of the agreement".

Ambassador Khalilzad also expressed his disappointment at the fragility of the peace process, stating that he returned to the region "disappointed", that “the window to achieve a political settlement will not stay open forever,” adding that “intransigence and a refusal to abandon animosity, embrace fellow citizens, and agree on a formula for political cooperation/competition underpin the ongoing war".

This comes as negotiators from the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban are in Doha where they are trying to bridge gaps on some contested topics and procedural rules intended for the formal talks.