Islamabad: Ahead of an upcoming release of Taliban detainees held in Afghan prisons, the insurgent group warned the government in Kabul on Tuesday against any attacks on those released, saying such incidents would jeopardise the peace talks.
A Taliban spokesman told The Associated Press there have been at least 11 such attacks in the past several months instances when freed Taliban figures were killed, harassed and re-arrested by government forces.
Kabul officials denied unwarranted attacks on freed Taliban. The prisoner release is part of a deal the insurgents signed with the United States earlier this year. A final 400 Taliban prisoners remain in government prisons.
Over the weekend in Kabul, an Afghan traditional council, known as the Loya Jirga, agreed to free the final 400 imprisoned Taliban, paving the way for an early start to negotiations between Afghanistan’s warring sides.
The council agreed to an immediate release of Taliban prisoners but by Tuesday, they had not been freed. Negotiations between Kabul’s political leadership and the Taliban are expected to begin within weeks and will be held in the Mideast state of Qatar, where the Taliban maintain a political office. The Taliban said the talks could begin within a week of the final prisoner releases. (AP)
