KABUL – Afghan President Ashraf Ghani signed on Tuesday a decree onreleasing detained Taliban prisoners, according to spokesman for the AfghanPresident Sediq Sediqqi.
“President Ghani has signed the decree that would facilitate the release ofthe Taliban prisoners in accordance with an accepted framework for thestart of negotiation between the Taliban and the Afghan government. Detailsof the decree will be shared tomorrow”, Sediqqi said in a statement.
The Taliban said earlier that they would not engage in a dialoguelinkwithKabul until their demands were met. The US and the Taliban signed along-awaited peace deal in Doha on 29 February, Sputnik has reported.
The agreement envisions complete US and NATO troop withdrawal fromAfghanistan within 14 months, and the start of the direct intra-Afghannegotiations on 10 March.
linkMoscow welcomed the agreement, but drew attention to the fact that the US,which has for many years accused Russia of contacts with the Taliban and ofviolating international law, eventually concluded an agreement with theradical movement.
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Washington said earlier that its pact with the Taliban paves the way forintra-Afghan talkslink,provided that the organization upholds its end of the bargain and stopsterrorist groups from using Afghan soil to create what the Trumpadministration referred to as threats to US national security.
Since 2018, the US government and the Taliban have been attempting tonegotiatelinkapeace deal that would ensure the withdrawal of foreign troops fromAfghanistan in exchange for the movement’s guarantees that the countrywould not become a safe haven for terrorists.
