ISLAMABAD: Pakistan welcomed a decision announced on Sunday by Loya Jirga, an Afghan grand assembly, to release a final 400 Taliban prisoners — a move which is expected to clear the way for peace talks between the Afghan government and the insurgents.
The 400 Taliban inmates who remain in the Afghan government's custody have been the main bone of contention delaying peace in the war-torn country. Exchange of prisoners between the Taliban and Kabul was a major part of the agreement signed by the US and Taliban in Doha, Qatar in February. The process should have taken place in early March to be immediately followed by intra-Afghan talks to end a 19-year war and decide the future of Afghanistan's political system.
"Pakistan welcomes the Afghan Loya Jirga’s recommendation to release remaining 400 prisoners. We hope that with implementation of this step relating to the prisoners’ release, as envisaged in the US-Taliban peace agreement, the intra-Afghan negotiations will commence at the earliest," Pakistan's Foreign Office said in a statement.
The 400 prisoners, whom Kabul described as “hard-core” Taliban fighters involved in major attacks across the country, are the last of 5,000 that the Taliban demanded be released under the US agreement, which envisaged a swap in which the Afghan government would release up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners and the insurgents release up to 1,000 prisoners.
The Loya Jirga comprising 3,200 delegates who gathered in Kabul was summoned by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Friday to help him decide whether he should free the remaining prisoners or not. The assembly is a traditional institution for reaching consensus among Afghanistan's rival tribes, factions, and ethnic groups, and is usually called in during times of crisis to discuss major issues.
Following Loya Jirga's advice, Ghani said he would release the 400 prisoners and the Taliban would sit down for talks in Doha within three days of the prisoners being freed.
According to reports from Reuters, foreign diplomats expect talks to begin within a week.
