KABUL, Mar 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Afghan President, Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, issued a decree to release Taliban inmates on parole, and the release of the first 1,500 prisoners will start on Mar 14, an official confirmed, today.
According to the decree, about 5,000 Taliban prisoners will be released.
All prisoners released must make a written commitment, to guarantee they would not return to the battlefield, Sediq Sediqqi, chief presidential spokesman, said on Twitter.
The Afghan government will release the first 1,500 inmates within 15 days, starting Mar 14. Everyday 100 prisoners will be released in consideration of age, medical condition, and the remaining time of sentenced imprisonment. Every prisoner must pass through a biometric registration process.
The remaining 3,500 Taliban prisoners will be released during and after the intra-Afghan negotiations.
According to the decree, after the start of the intra-Afghan talks, 500 Taliban prisoners will be released every two weeks, and during this period, a major reduction in violence should be witnessed, until the remaining 3,500 prisoners are released.
President Ghani said, the prisoners’ release will lead to a reduction in violence. “Fortunately, we have reached a framework where significant reduction in violence will take form, in exchange for releasing Taliban prisoners, so that people can feel its tangible outcome,” Ghani said.
Zabiullah Mujahid, a purported Taliban spokesman, said that, the outfit has handed “the United States a detailed list of 5,000 inmates, which no one can alter.”– NNN-AGENCIES
