Afghan President signed for the release of Taliban prisoners
Kabul … News Time
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani signs presidential decree to release Taliban prisoners a statement from the Afghan Presidential Office said details of the release of Taliban prisoners would be revealed soon, according to a foreign news agency ‘Reuters’. Afghan President’s Spokesman Siddiq Siddiqui tweeted that the Afghan government has set a framework under which prisoners will be exchanged to reduce tensions. On the other hand, the Taliban send vehicles in the hope of release of their prisoners by the Afghan government. He said he would hand over 1,000 government prisoners in compliance with the agreement. Senior Taliban leaders in Doha said vehicles have been dispatched to the area near Bagram Prison to pick up Taliban prisoners.
Ashraf Ghani said he was sworn in as Afghanistan’s president for a second term yesterday the mechanism for the release of prisoners with the Taliban has been finalized and a presidential decree will be issued in this regard. It should be noted that the Afghan President in his statement March 2 rejected the release of Taliban prisoners that they do not accept the agreement between the US and the Taliban regarding the release of prisoners. Ashraf Ghani told media in Kabul that the Afghan government had made no promises regarding the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners. Pledging to continue partial support for this agreement to establish peace in Afghanistan they made it clear that 5,000 Taliban fighters would not be released in exchange for the release of 100 prisoners by the Taliban. The Afghan president said it was not in the jurisdiction of the United States, but he was merely acting as a facilitator.
The Taliban, on the other hand, responded to the statement of the Afghan president saying that 5,000 of our prisoners were not released until then; the international community will not participate in the talks and have called it a key step towards ending the long war. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid had said that if our 5,000 prisoners were not released, there would be no international dialogue; the number can be as low as 100 or 200, with no problem. Remember that a peace deal was signed between the Afghan Taliban and the US on February 29, signed by US Representative Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban’s head of political affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani.
There are currently 13,000 US troops in Afghanistan
Meanwhile, the United States has begun its withdrawal from Afghanistan, taking the first step under a peace deal with the Taliban. According to the American News Agency Associated Press (AP), the United States and the Taliban have signed an agreement between the US and the Taliban to end the longest war in Afghanistan for more than 18 years. There was a time under which the US began the process of withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan. The next step under this agreement will be inter-Afghan dialogue, in which all parties, including the Taliban, will resolve the future through dialogue with regard to the future of the country. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his political rival, Abdullah Abdullah, took oath as president on Monday. And after the two sworn in, negotiations with the Taliban appear to be falling apart. Ashraf Ghani, however, said he would form a team to negotiate with the Taliban and that he had promised to release the prisoners from the Taliban and his announcement was praised by the United States. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad’s Troubles over Peace Deal Increase in Afghan Government where they are trying to resolve the issue by combining Afghanistan’s leadership. On Tuesday, Zalmay Khalilzad said in a message on social networking website Twitter that the two leaders would agree on the establishment of a widely recognized government, we will continue to cooperate.
On the other hand, US military spokesman Sony Leggett (Col. Sonny Leggett) said in his statement that the United States had reduced its forces to 13500 in 135 days under the agreement. It is understood that there are currently 13,000 US troops in Afghanistan, out of which 8000 are trained by Afghan National Security Forces personnel. The other 5,000 militants carry out military assistance at counter-terrorism operations and at the request of the Afghan government. Meanwhile, Mike Pompeo made it clear that he is strongly opposed to the establishment of equal governments in Afghanistan where on Monday, Abdullah Abdullah sent his representative to take over as Vice President so that he could take over before Ashraf Ghani’s representative. The US Secretary of State issued a stern warning against resolving political differences by force and advised the parties to resolve the issue with restraint. According to the US, plans to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan in 18 months are concerned that the Taliban will be part of the war on terror in Afghanistan. But the agreement was not subject to the success of any negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government.
It should be noted that an Afghan peace agreement was signed between the US and the Taliban in Qatar on February 29, which is believed to end the 19-year war in Afghanistan. The 4-page Afghan Peace Agreement is comprised of 4 central sections. The Taliban will not allow Afghanistan’s soil to use any organization, group or individual that would pose a threat to the United States or its allies. The withdrawal of US and its allies from Afghanistan will be ensured. The Taliban will begin the Intra-Afghan dialogue process from March 10, 2020. After the intra-Afghan talks, the political process in Afghanistan will be finalized.
