MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd September, 2020) The Afghan government has released all Taliban prisoners except seven who are accused of killing French and Australian soldiers, Pajhwok news agency reported Wednesday citing sources.
According to the agency, Kabul released another eight Taliban fighters over the course of the day.
Earlier in the day, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced that the government had fulfilled its commitments by the peace process with the Taliban, paving the way for intra-Afghan negotiations.
Presidential Palace sources told Sputnik on Wednesday that a technical team from the Afghan government had arrived in the Qatari capital of Doha, where the Taliban's political office is headquartered, in preparation of an official delegation to follow the next day.
Over the past several days, Kabul released Taliban militants accused of particularly serious crimes, including killing foreign troops in insider attacks in return for the Taliban releasing commando prisoners.
The mutual prisoner release began following the Taliban's signing a peace process deal with the United States forces in late February. President Ghani initially said he had not agreed to the stipulation to release 5,000 Taliban prisoners, but his hand was later forced after the Taliban unleashed a wave of violence targeting soldiers and military alike.
