KABUL, May 27 (NNN-XINHUA) – A total of 900 Taliban inmates were freed from Afghan government’s prisons on Tuesday, in the latest move to further advance the intra-Afghan peace talks, a spokesperson for the Office of the National Security Council confirmed.
Javid Faisal said, the move came after Taliban militants announced a three-day ceasefire during Eid al-Fitr festival, starting from Sunday.
Taliban militants have reportedly agreed to extend the ceasefire for another four days or more.
On Monday, the second day of the festival, the government released 100 Taliban from Bagram prison in eastern Parwan province.
On Mar 11, Afghan President, Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, issued a decree to release 5,000 Taliban inmates on parole and Taliban agreed to release 1,000 soldiers.
As of May 10, some 1,000 Taliban fighters and 200 Afghan government soldiers had been freed by the two sides, but the exchange process had been suspended over some disputes.
The exchange of prisoners is part of a peace deal inked between the Taliban and the United States in Qatar in Feb. However, the Afghan government was not a signatory of the deal.– NNN-XINHUA
