KABUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd April, 2020) The Taliban's technical team in Kabul has discussed the details of the release of its prisoners by the Afghan government, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said, adding that the process could start soon.
"Our [Taliban] technical team is in Kabul, first we are discussing the identification of prisoners and their release. The team also discusses how the prisoners will be transported to their homes," Mujahid said, adding that no prisoner has been released so far and that the process could start two days after the talks.
The Taliban's team includes members of the group's committee on the prisoner release, namely Maulavi Abdul Fatah, Maulavi Ibrahim and Akhtar Mohammad,
Suhail Shaheen, another spokesman of the militant group, confirmed the start of talks on Twitter.
"A 3 members technical team of IEA [Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan or the Taliban] Prisoners's Commission is to verify and identify IEA prisoners prior to release in coordination with technical team of the Kabul Administration," Shaheen said.
The Taliban has identified the list of all 5,000 prisoners it wants to free from the government-controlled prisons.
Afghan National Security Council spokesman Javid Faisal confirmed that the government hosted delegates from the Taliban and said that the International Committee of the Red Cross observed the negotiations.
Meanwhile, according to the sources cited by TOLOnews broadcaster, the sides agreed to exchange 20 government troops for 100 members of the Taliban.
The Taliban has demanded the release of its members from Afghan prisons before the start of the Intra-Afghan talks, envisioned by the peace deal between the Taliban and the United States. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has announced that the prisoners will be released gradually, depending on the success of the negotiations.
