Tehran 11 March_Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has approved the release of hundreds of Taliban prisoners as part of efforts to pave the way for the start of talks with the militants.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club(YJC)_Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for Afghan presidential palace, made the announcement in an English tweet late on Tuesday, saying that Ghani had signed a decree to release 1,500 Taliban prisoners this week.
“President Ghani has signed the decree that would facilitate the release of the Taliban prisoners in accordance with an accepted framework for the start of negotiation between the Taliban and the Afghan government,” the spokesman said in his tweet.
President Ghani has signed the decree that would facilitate the release of the Taliban prisoners in accordance with an accepted framework for the start of negotiation between the Taliban and the afghan government. Details of the decree will be shared tomorrow.
— Sediq Sediqqi (@SediqSediqqi) March 10, 2020
Sediqqi announced in subsequent tweets in Persian that the entire 1,500 prisoners would be released within 15 days starting on Saturday, "with 100 prisoners walking out of Afghan jails every day."
The official also underlined that once direct talks between the Taliban and Kabul began, the Afghan government would free 500 prisoners every two weeks until a total of 3,500 were released.
The release of the 3,500 prisoners will move forward only if there is a concrete reduction in violence, according to Sediqqi.
The decree also asserted that the prisoners had to provide a written guarantee that they would not return to the battlefield.
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