The Taliban militant group has called back its negotiating team from the Afghan capital, Kabul, after breaking off talks with the government on a prisoner swap.
Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Taliban’s office in Qatar, said in a tweet on Tuesday that the move was due to Kabul’s alleged delay in releasing imprisoned militants.
“[Taliban] Prisoners... should have been released long before as per the signed agreement and paved the way for intra-Afghan negotiations. But, the relevant sides are deliberately delaying our prisoners’ release and thus violating the peace Agreement. Therefore, the... [Taliban group] recalls, with immediate effect, its technical team from Kabul,” he said.
Shaheen was referring to a deal the militant group struck with the United States in February under which a prisoner swap was planned between the Taliban and the Afghan government.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Taliban had broken off talks with the Afghan government on the prisoner exchange, announcing that the group’s technical team would not participate in what they described as “fruitless meetings.”
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