Afghan govt releases third batch of Taliban prisoners consisting of 100 inmates

The Afghan government released the third batch of Taliban prisoners consisting of 100 inmates as part of ongoing efforts to kick start the intra-Afghan talks aimed at ending the conflict.

The Afghan government released the third batch of Taliban prisoners consisting of 100 inmates as part of ongoing efforts to kick start the intra-Afghan talks aimed at ending the conflict.

The Office of the National Security Council in a statement said Sunday that the government released 100 more Taliban prisoners as per President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani’s decree, considering the health condition, age and remaining term of the inmates.

The statement further added that the prisoners are being released as part of the efforts for peace process and countering the growing threats of COVID-19 disease.

The National Security Council had earlier announced that the government has released 200 Taliban prisoners, in two separate batches of 100 inmates.

This comes as efforts are underway to kick start the intra-Afghan talks following the signing of peace deal between the U.S. and Taliban late in the month of February.

The Taliban group had earlier demanded the release of 5000 Taliban prisoners as a prerequisite for the start of intra-Afghan dialogue.