The Taliban announced their readiness to start peace talks with the Afghan government after Eid Al-Adha, on condition that the ongoing prison exchange process is completed.
The movement's spokesman, Suhail Shaheen, said on Twitter that the movement "is ready to start Afghan-Afghan negotiations immediately after (Eid Al-Adha) in the event that the release of prisoners is completed."
Shaheen expressed the movement's readiness to release the remaining Afghan security forces prisoners held by it, in exchange for the release of Kabul, all of the movement's prisoners, "according to the list that was handed over" to the authorities.
The talks were originally expected to start on March 10, but were delayed several times as the fighting continued and the prisoner exchange process was delayed.
A prisoner exchange was agreed in a historic agreement between the Taliban and Washington, signed in February in the Qatari capital, Doha, which essentially provides for the withdrawal of all US and foreign forces from Afghanistan by May 2021.
Security promises
In return, the Taliban made several security promises and pledged to hold peace talks upon completion of the prisoners' release.
The Afghan government released 4,400 Taliban fighters, while the Taliban announced the release of 864 prisoners. But National Security Council spokesman Javed Faisal said that "serious criminal cases" were still open to 600 prisoners whom the Taliban had requested to be released.
"The Taliban ... must fulfill their obligations to prevent released prisoners from resuming violence," Faisal wrote on Twitter Thursday after Shaheen's tweet.
"Stop the violence and prepare for the Afghan-Afghan talks as quickly as possible," he added.