Pakistan on Thursday welcomed the resumption of prisoner exchanges betweenKabul and the Taliban, a precondition to kick-start long-delayedintra-Afghan talks and end the 19-year war.
During a telephone conversation with Haneef Atmar, acting foreign ministerof Afghanistan, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said peacein the neighboring country was Islamabad’s “highest priority.”
“It is important that Afghan leaders seize this historic opportunity andachieve an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive political settlement inAfghanistan,” Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry quoted him as saying.
The prisoner exchange — release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners in return of1,000 captive security forces — was agreed in a landmark deal betweenWashington and the Taliban in February.
Under the deal, the US committed to withdraw all foreign forces fromAfghanistan by July 2021.
In return, the insurgents pledged to prevent terrorist groups from usingAfghan soil for attacks, and promised to seek reconciliation with otherAfghan groups through a dialogue process.
But disagreements over the release of the final batch of 400 “hardcore”Taliban prisoners delayed the peace negotiations, originally expected inMarch.
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President Ashraf Ghani said they were “a danger to the world.” Some westerngovernments, including France and Australia, also objected to the release.
Kabul broke the impasse this week by resuming the troubled exchange, andreleasing all but a few inmates.
“The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has received our commandos heldhostage by Taliban, after which the Gov’t released the remaining 400convicts, except the few for which our partners have reservations,”National Security Council spokesman Javid Faisal tweeted.
“Diplomatic efforts are ongoing. We expect direct talks to start promptly.”
Hence, the first round of talks is expected to be held soon in Doha, Qatar,where the Taliban maintain a political office.
