Afghanistan govt agrees to release 400 Taliban prisoners to start peace talks

Afghanistan has agreed to release some 400 Taliban hard-liners from government jails across the country in hope of starting the peace talks with the fundamentalist organisation. According to reports, Afghanistan's grand assembly, also known as Loya Jirga, approved the release of the prisoners. Taliban had earlier demanded the release of its fighters as a condition before starting the peace talks with the Afghan government. The condition was put forward by the Taliban spokesperson before signing the historic peace-deal with the United States in Doha this year. 

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The Afghanistan assembly in its resolution said that the Loya Jirga is approving the release of the prisoners in order to remove the obstacle and start the peace process to end the bloodshed in the country. A Taliban spokesperson while talking to the press hailed Afghanistan assembly's decision saying that it's a positive step. Meanwhile, a government spokesman informed that the peace talks could start within weeks of releasing the prisoners. The Afghan government was earlier not happy with the deal signed between the United States and the Taliban, particularly with the condition of them releasing Taliban fighters. But, later the government agreed to release prisoners to start peace talks with the group and end the 19-year-long war. 

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US-Afghan joint declaration 

"The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan welcomes the Reduction in Violence period and takes note of the U.S.-Taliban agreement, an important step toward ending the war. The U.S-Taliban agreement paves the way for intra-Afghan negotiations on a political settlement and a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire. The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan reaffirms its readiness to participate in such negotiations and its readiness to conclude a ceasefire with the Taliban," a joint declaration signed between Afghanistan and the United States read. 

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(Image Credit: AP)