MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th June, 2020) The Taliban have released a further 76 armed forces personnel and law enforcement officers from prison on Thursday, the militant group's political spokesman Suhail Shaheen said, as a prisoner exchange continues ahead of planned peace talks between the organization and the Afghan government.
"Today, as usual, 46 soldiers and policemen of the Kabul Administration who had been detained earlier, were released from prisons of the Islamic Emirate in Wardak and Ghazni provinces. In another step, 30 soldiers of the Administration detained in Ghazni recently, were released as a goodwill gesture," the spokesman wrote on Twitter.
The Taliban and the United States signed a peace agreement on February 29 that was intended to pave the way for the beginning of negotiations between the militant group and the Afghan government. As part of the agreement, the Taliban demanded the release of up to 5,000 prisoners.
On Tuesday, the Afghan National Security Council spokesman Javid Faisal said that 3,000 Taliban prisoners have so far been released, which the official said showed Kabul's commitment to the negotiations.
Since the US-Taliban peace deal was signed, officials in Kabul have accused the militant organization of purposely detaining civilians who were then later released as part of the exchange.
The planned intra-Afghan talks have still yet to be held and violent clashes continue to take place across the country.
