Afghanistan .. The government begins by releasing the last batch of Taliban detainees

Al-Jazeera correspondent reported that the Afghan government began releasing the last batch of Taliban prisoners, which is a prerequisite for starting peace negotiations between the two parties in the Qatari capital, Doha.

Our correspondent quoted Afghan government sources as saying that "the Afghan government has released at least 60 prisoners out of 400, who are the total of the last batch of the movement's detainees in Afghan prisons."

The source confirmed that Kabul will release another batch of prisoners later on Friday.

On Thursday, the Taliban said it had obtained accurate and reliable intelligence indicating that the movement’s detainees in the Afghan government’s custody were facing a serious security threat.

The movement added in a statement that ISIS, with the help of Afghan intelligence, is planning to target buses carrying the movement's detainees after their release, to strike the negotiation process and retaliate against the detainees.

The movement called on the Afghan government to take the necessary measures to prevent such an attack, and held it responsible for that.

The Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had signed a presidential decree a few days ago to pardon the last batch of the movement’s detainees, after the tribal chiefs ’decision (the Loya Jirga) to release them.

Since last March, the Afghan government has released several thousand Taliban detainees, while the movement has released hundreds of government forces.

The exchange of detainees took place under the peace agreement concluded in Doha on February 29 between the United States and the Taliban, and peace negotiations between the movement and the Afghan government were supposed to start on March 10, but were repeatedly postponed as the fighting continued and the completion of the exchange process was delayed.

Ashraf Ghani warned in a video conference organized by the American think-tank "Council on Foreign Relations" in Washington that the release of a number of "hardened criminals" and "drug traffickers" "would most likely pose a threat to us, the United States and the world."

The Afghan president said that peace has a price, and with the release of these people, "we pay the greater part, which means that there will be a price for consequences."