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Afghan Peace Deal in Tatters, Near Collapse

The Afghan government will release 100 Taliban prisoners on Wednesday, an official said, a day after the Taliban said they were walking out of talks with Kabul.

/ April 8, 2020
Afghan security men stand guard after an explosion near the police headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019. A suicide car bomber targeted the police headquarters in a minority Shiite neighborhood in western Kabul on Wednesday, setting off a huge explosion that wounded dozens of people, Afghan officials said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — The Afghan government will release 100 Taliban prisoners on Wednesday, an official said, a day after the Taliban said they were walking out of talks with Kabul.

The foes have been negotiating in Kabul since last week to try to complete a prisoner swap that was supposed to have happened by March 10 and pave the way for intra-Afghan peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban.

But the swap has been beset with problems, with Kabul claiming the Taliban want 15 "top commanders" to be released, while the Taliban have accused Afghan authorities of needlessly wasting time.

Afghan security men stand guard after an explosion near the police headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019. A suicide car bomber targeted the police headquarters in a minority Shiite neighborhood in western Kabul on Wednesday, setting off a huge explosion that wounded dozens of people, Afghan officials said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

"One hundred Taliban prisoners will be released today," said Javid Faisal, spokesman for Afghanistan's Office of the National Security Council. 

"We are doing our part in the agreement. The peace process should move forward."

Faisal said the 15 commanders were not among those to be released, and that additional prisoners would be freed "depending on what the Taliban do."

The Taliban did not immediately comment.

The United States signed a deal with the Taliban in late February that required the Afghan government — which was not a signatory to the accord — to free 5,000 Taliban prisoners, and for the Taliban to release 1,000 pro-government captives in return.

In the accord, Washington promised the withdrawal of U.S. and foreign troops from Afghanistan by July next year, provided the Taliban start talks with Kabul and adhere to other guarantees.

On Tuesday, the Taliban's political spokesman Suhail Shaheen accused the administration of President Ashraf Ghani of "intentionally postponing the release and breaching the deal." 

He said the Taliban would pull their negotiators out of "fruitless" discussions with the Afghan government over the prisoner swap.

© Agence France-Presse

Categories / International, Politics

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