KABUL – Afghan President Ashraf Ghani breaks silence over reports ofrelease of 5,000 Taliban prisoners after the historic peace deal with theUnited States.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani pushed back Sunday against a key component ofthe US-Taliban deal signed a day earlier, saying he had not committed toreleasing any insurgent prisoners.
“There is no commitment to releasing 5,000 prisoners,” Ghani told a pressconference.
“This is the right and the self-will of the people of Afghanistan. It couldbe included in the agenda of the intra-Afghan talks, but cannot be aprerequisite for talks.
“General (Scott) Miller has told Taliban to do so. It is expected (tocontinue),” he added, referring to the US commander in charge of foreignforces in Afghanistan.
A Taliban source did not immediately comment.
Ghani’s government was not part of the Doha accord, so while the agreementstates that the “United States commits to completing this goal” ofreleasing the Taliban prisoners, it is unclear how that can happen if Kabulis not on board.
Any prisoner release is “not in the authority of the US, it is in theauthority of the Afghan government”, Ghani said.
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“It could be included in the agenda of the intra-Afghan talks, but cannotbe a prerequisite for talks.”
US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban deputy leader Mullah AbdulGhani Baradar signed the agreement during a ceremony in Dohar, Qatar onSaturday.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo,Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Qatari Emir and representatives fromfifty countries.
According to a joint declaration released minutes before the deal wassigned, the US and NATO troops will withdraw from Afghanistan within 14months.
The United States will reduce the number of US military forces inAfghanistan to 8,600 and implement other commitments in the US-Talibanagreement within 135 days of the announcement of this joint declaration andthe US-Taliban agreement.
