KABUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd August, 2020) Representatives from various ethnic, tribal, and religious communities of Afghanistan will gather on Friday for the so-called grand council known as Loya Jirga to advise President Ashraf Ghani on the release of 400 prisoners demanded by the Taliban, presidential spokesperson Sediq Sediqqi has said.
Last Friday, Ghani ordered a release of 500 Taliban prisoners within four days but stressed that they are not from the list received from the Taliban earlier in the year. Most of the people from the said list have been released save for the last 400.
"A consultative [Loya] Jirga will be convened on August 7 to secure the release of 400 dangerous prisoners. Participants will advise on the release of 400 Taliban prisoners, and members of the jirga will advise the president on other issues," Siddiqi said.
The spokesman has also said that the president has no authority to release Taliban prisoners whose Names are in the list of 5,000 provided by the Taliban, and he wants to explain the peace process to participants of Loya Jirga.
Siddiqi has said that the prisoners in question have been convicted by three courts and their crimes are serious.
"Although the agreement between the US and the Taliban did not include the Afghan government, the Afghan government released the prisoners in good faith, it was done for the sake of peace," Siddiqi said.
On February 29, the United States and the Taliban movement signed a peace deal in the Qatari capital of Doha, stipulating the beginning of intra-Afghan negotiations, as well as prisoner exchanges. Initially, the Taliban and the Kabul government did not show much inclination to negotiate with each other, however, the prisoner exchanges that have been taking place over the last few months. So far, the total number of released Taliban members is at 4,917, according to the National Security Council.
Despite not being an official decision-making body, Loya Jirga is an ancient social institution, considered to be the highest expression of the people's will, especially when it comes to consequential political decisions.
