BEIRUT (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th August, 2020) The Loya Jirga, a gathering of Afghan elders that started in Kabul on Friday, will be creating obstacles to the release of the 5,000 Taliban prisoners who should be freed from Afghan jails as a precondition for the intra-Afghan peace negotiations, Suhail Shaheen, the spokesman for the political office of the Taliban militant movement, told Sputnik in an interview by phone.
Ahead of the Friday meeting, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on the Loya Jirga to release the remaining Taliban prisoners to enable the eventual resumption of the peace talks.
"I think this Loya Jirga is convened by the Kabul administration. In our will, it is not legitimate, so their decision is also not legitimate ... It is clearly mentioned in the Doha Agreement that before the beginning of the intra-Afghan negotiations, 5,000 our prisoners should be released. So there is no need for Loya Jirga. The Loya Jirga is convened only to create obstacles in the way of releasing these prisoners," Shaheen said.
The Taliban spokesman stressed that the Doha Agreement was the "proper mechanism" for the solution of the Afghan crisis.
