Afghan Taliban makes key announcement over the historic peace deal with United States
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DOHA: Afghan Taliban makes key announcement over the historic peace deal with United States.
The Afghan Taliban have handed over to the United States a list of the 5,000 prisoners it has demanded must be freed to further the peace process in Afghanistan.
"There can be no dispute or doubt over the prisoners' identity now that we have handed over the list of prisoners to the US," the spoksperson for the group's Qatar Office Suhail Shaheen said.
"One of our conditions is that the prisoners be handed over in a secluded area or a Taliban delegation identifies the prisoners in the jail," the spokesperson added.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani — who had voiced his opposition to the release of Taliban prisoners — is expected to make an announcement on the matter later on Tuesday.
An announcement regarding the formation of a team to hold talks with the Taliban is also expected.
Earlier today, diplomats had said the US wished to hold a vote at the UN Security Council to approve Washington's deal with the Taliban that was meant to pave the way to peace in Afghanistan.
The US military has already started withdrawing its troops as part of the pullout agreed in the February 29 agreement with the Taliban. The request for a UN vote came after hard negotiations that began one week ago, diplomats said on Monday.
China requested in the last draft — already revised three times — that the resolution mention "regional cooperation," the sources told *AFP*.
