Taliban talks could begin in days as final fighters set for release

The government is set to release the remaining 400 insurgents, paving the way for inter-Afghan dialogue to start

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani holds up the resolution on the last day of a loya jirga or traditional council, in Kabul. AP Photo

President Ashraf Ghani and other Afghan leaders attend on the last day of the loya jirga on August 9, 2020. AP Photo

A female member of the loya jirga records Afghan President Ashraf Ghani with a mobile phone during the closing ceremony. EPA

Women members of the loya jirga attend the closing ceremony of the traditional assembly after it agreed to free 400 Taliban prisoners accused of serious crimes. EPA

A member of the Afghan loya jirga attends the closing ceremony. EPA

Women attend the closing ceremony of the loya jirga in Kabul. EPA

Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the Afghan High Council for National Reconciliation, addresses the loya jirga on its final day. AFP

Delegates attend the last day of the loya jirga convened by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. AP Photo

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani holds up the final draft of the loya jirga's resolution. EPA

Afghan women pray as they attend the ending ceremony of the loya jirga. EPA

Peace talks between the government of Afghanistan and the Taliban could start in a matter of days after the insurgents said on Monday that they were ready to sit down once the promised release of a final group of fighters takes place.

The fate of some 400 Taliban prisoners has been a crucial hurdle to talks between the sides, which were committed to completing a prisoner exchange before negotiations could start.

On Sunday, thousands of Afghans approved the release at the end of a three-day loya jirga – a traditional Afghan gathering of tribal elders and other stakeholders sometimes held to decide controversial issues.

"Our stance is clear, if the prisoner release is completed, then we are ready for the intra-Afghan talks within a week," Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen told AFP.

Afghan state TV reported on Monday that talks would begin on August 16, although no date was confirmed.

"The Afghan government will start releasing the 400 Taliban prisoners within two days," National Security Council spokesman Javid Fasial said.

Mr Shaheen said the first round of talks would be held in Doha, Qatar, where a deal between the US and the Taliban was thrashed out last year.

The prisoner exchange was a key part of a deal signed by the Taliban and the United States in February, when Washington agreed to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan in return for a pledge from the insurgents to hold peace talks with the government in Kabul.

The much-delayed talks were aimed at ending the almost two decades-old conflict that cost tens of thousands of lives.

Mr Shaheen said the Taliban delegation for peace talks would be led by Abbas Stanekzai, who was the group's chief negotiator in talks with Washington for the February deal.

The Afghan government has released almost 5,000 Taliban inmates, but authorities had baulked at freeing the final 400 demanded by the Taliban.

They were accused of serious offences, including scores of killings. Forty-four insurgents were of particular concern to the US and other countries for their role in high-profile attacks.

In its final resolution, the jirga said it approved releasing the militants "to remove the hurdles for the start of peace talks, stopping bloodshed and for the good of the public".

The jirga urged the government to monitor the freed prisoners to ensure they did not return to the battlefield and demanded an immediate and lasting ceasefire in the country.

But Mr Shaheen said the ceasefire would form part of the agenda during the negotiations with the Afghan government.

The family of French aid worker Bettina Goislard, who was murdered in Afghanistan in 2003, said they would not accept the release of her killers, who are on the list.

"Such a decision to free [them] made on the basis of horse-trading would be, to us, her family, inconceivable," Goislard's family told AFP.

Not all those who attended the jirga favoured the release of militants.

Lawmaker Belquis Roshan, a women's rights campaigner, had protested against their release on the first day of jirga, unfurling a banner that read: "Redeeming Taliban is national treason."