KABUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th May, 2020) US Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad said on Thursday that he and Taliban representatives advanced on a range of issues, including the reduction in violence and a humanitarian ceasefire in Afghanistan, during recent talks.
Earlier in the day, the Taliban said that Khalilzad met with a delegation of the group in Qatar on Wednesday to discuss the intra-Afghan negotiations and prisoner exchange between the movement and Afghan government.
"Lengthy meeting overnight with Mullah Baradar & his team in Doha. We sought progress on a range of topics: a reduction in violence, humanitarian ceasefire as demanded by the international community to allow for better cooperation on managing COVID-19 pandemic in Afghanistan," Khalilzad wrote on Twitter.
The US special representative also said that they reached progress regarding the acceleration of prisoner exchange, early launch of intra-Afghan talks and actions necessary to secure the freedom of US citizen Mark Frerichs, who was kidnapped in January.
The prisoner exchange and launch of the intra-Afghan talks became possible after the Taliban and Washington reached a peace deal. Under the agreement, the US and NATO troops are set to be pulled out from the country within 14 months, and the intra-Afghan talks between the militant group and the government were set to start on March 10. However, the talks have been delayed due to Afghanistan's electoral crisis and mutual disagreements over the release of prisoners.
The Taliban group is demanding that the Afghan authorities release 5,000 prisoners on the basis of the peace deal. The Afghan government, in its turn, agreed to gradually release 1,500 prisoners.
So far, the government has released 902 Taliban members, while the militant group has released 110 prisoners, the TOLOnews reported on Thursday.
