April 17, 2020
The Taliban claimed the release of 20 more Afghan soldiers and police officers in the eastern province of Laghman in a tweet on April 16 by their spokesman, Suhail Shaheen, as part of the prisoner swap condition placed to pave the way for peace talks between the Taliban and Afghan Government. According to Zabihullah Mujahid, another Taliban spokesperson, the prisoners have been handed over to the representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), though neither the ICRC nor the Afghan Government have confirmed the release.
This is the second group of Afghan security forces that the Taliban have freed. Earlier on April 12, the Taliban released 20 government prisoners in the southern province of Kandahar, thus bringing the total number of prisoners released by the militants to 40.
On the other hand, the Kabul government has released a total of 361 Taliban inmates since April 8, according to Javid Faisal – spokesman for the Office of the National Security Council, Afghanistan.
As part of the pact signed between the Taliban and the United States on February 29, the Afghan Government was to release 5000 Taliban fights as a confidence-building measure ahead of the formal peace talks which would end the 18-year long conflict in the country. In return, the Taliban would release some 1,000 Afghan government troops and civilian workers held in captivity. The prisoner swap was to be completed before March 10 after which the intra-Afghan peace talks was to commence. However, disputes between the two sides have delayed the exchange.
Afghan Studies Center (ASC), Islamabad.
