A delegation of the Afghan Taliban movement arrived today in the capital, Kabul, to prepare for the start of the prisoner exchange between the movement and the Afghan authorities, while Afghan National Security Council spokesman Javed Faisal said that the prisoner exchange process has been postponed.

Reuters quoted Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid as saying that three members of the movement's technical team will help implement the prisoner exchange process by identifying the identities of Taliban prisoners and securing their transfer.

The exchange of prisoners between Kabul and the Taliban is a central point in facilitating the start of the internal Afghan dialogue in order to turn the page of four decades of war. The release was supposed to take place earlier this month, but differences between the Taliban and the Kabul authorities caused their postponement.

Doha Agreement
The prisoner exchange was among the provisions of the peace agreement signed between the Taliban and the United States at the end of last month in the Qatari capital, Doha, as the agreement stipulated that approximately 5,000 Taliban prisoners be released, in exchange for the latter's release of 1,000 prisoners from the Afghan government.

In a related context, the spokesman for the Afghan National Security Council said that the process of exchanging prisoners between the government and the Taliban was postponed after it was scheduled at the end of this month, explaining that the delay was the reason for the visit of a Taliban delegation to the capital to talk about this exchange.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said today that progress had been made in Afghan negotiations with the Taliban regarding the release of prisoners, as Pompeo praised at a press conference the negotiating team announced by the Kabul government for talks with the Taliban, describing it as broad and inclusive.

But the Taliban expressed days ago their refusal to negotiate with the team announced by Kabul, saying it had not been chosen in a way that included all Afghan factions.