China News Service, September 2 According to Reuters, on the 2nd local time, Afghan officials stated that the country has released nearly 200 Taliban detainees to advance the progress of peace talks, and a group of negotiators are also preparing to fly this week. To the capital of Qatar.
Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for Afghan President Ghani, said in a statement that the Afghan government has released another group of Taliban detainees and that the process of promoting the exchange of detainees is still in progress.
According to the requirements of the Taliban, about 120 detainees are still to be released.
A senior Afghan government official who requested anonymity said, “We hope to complete the exchange of detainees so that we can start the peace process as soon as possible.”
In addition, a spokesman for Abdullah, chairman of the Afghan National Reconciliation High Commission, said that a government-authorized negotiating team may fly to Doha, the capital of Qatar, where the negotiations began on the 4th.
The exchange of detainees between the Afghan government and the Taliban is part of the peace agreement reached at the end of February 2020.
According to the agreement, the Afghan government ordered the release of 5,000 Taliban detainees, and the Taliban pledged to release 1,000 detained government personnel.
At the beginning of March, Ghani ordered the release of 5,000 Taliban detainees in order to clear obstacles for internal dialogue between the Afghans.
However, the process of exchanging detainees between the two parties has been interrupted many times before.