Taliban in Kabul to oversee prisoner release in step towards peace

Afghanistan will begin to release some Taliban prisoners this week as part of confidence-building measure crucial for the success of the peace deal signed between the insurgents and America to end their nearly two-decade war, officials said on Wednesday. A three-member Taliban team arrived in Kabul on Tuesday to oversee the prisoner exchange process and met with Afghan officials despite a nationwide lockdown implemented to curb the spread of the coronavirus. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo termed Tuesday's developments as "good news", a week after he had visited both government leaders in Kabul and Taliban representatives in the Qatari capital Doha, where the Afghan militants have an office, to urge them to move forward with the peace process. A Taliban spokesman said on Wednesday that at least 100 captured Taliban fighters would be freed soon, the first step to in ultimate exchange of 6,000 prisoners held by the Afghan government and the insurgent group. "One hundred prisoners will be released in first batch, then both sides will assess whether releasing 100 per day is working out well or not," said Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the militant group. Discussions were underway on technicalities related to the release and the provision for medical check-ups for those being freed, Mr Mujahid said, adding that the lockdown due to coronavirus added to the challenge. The Taliban was making transport arrangements to ensure that old and sick fighters released from the Afghan jails were received by their families but had no plans to provide financial assistance. Javid Faisal, a spokesman for the country's National Security Council in a tweet said both sides were holding "face-to-face discussions" over the prisoner exchanges. Despite the talks and the lockdown, violence has not ebbed. Eight civilians, including children, were killed in an explosion when their vehicle hit a landmine planted by the Taliban in southern Helmand province on Wednesday, a provincial official said. Neither the Taliban nor any other group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast. Taliban fighters say security forces are the target of their roadside bombs and landmines, but civilians are frequently hurt or killed. The UN Security Council on Tuesday urged Afghanistan’s warring parties to heed Mr Guterres’ call for an immediate cease-fire to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic and ensure delivery of humanitarian aid throughout the country. The council issued its statement after a closed briefing by UN deputy special representative Ingrid Hayden who said the country “appears to be reaching a defining moment” — whether its leaders can join together “to engage in meaningful talks with the Taliban to achieve a sustainable peace.” “The choice is made stark by the all-encompassing threat of Covid-19, which poses grave dangers to the health of Afghanistan’s population and, potentially, to the stability of its institutions,” she said in remarks sent to UN correspondents. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and political opponent Abdullah Abdullah have been locked in a power struggle since last September’s election, and both declared themselves president and held parallel inauguration ceremonies in early March. The discord has prompted the Trump administration to say it would cut $1 billion in assistance to Afghanistan if the two can’t work out their differences. Despite the prisoner release, the rivalry and political turmoil in Kabul have impeded each step toward talks between the government and the Taliban – negotiations that were supposed to come next under a peace deal that Washington signed with the insurgents in February. The Security Council “called on the political leadership of Afghanistan to put aside their differences and put the interest of the country first.” Council members “commended the presentation of a negotiating team for the upcoming intra-Afghan negotiations, including several women,” and expressed hope that those negotiations would start “without delay, bearing in mind the challenge the Covid-19 situation poses.” Mr Pompeo also said the Kabul team “It looks like it's pretty inclusive, pretty broad," and said that he was "happy about that."

Taliban in Kabul to oversee prisoner release in step towards peace

If the release goes ahead it will be the first step from Kabul towards ending the decades of war in Afghanistan