Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty April 9, 2020 The Afghan government has vowed to move forward with the release of dozens of Taliban militants it is holding behind bars, even though a swap between the two sides appears to have collapsed. Kabul “will release 100 Taliban prisoners today based on their health condition, age and length
Tolo News: Following weeks of delays, the Afghan government on Wednesday announced the release of 100 Taliban prisoners, a move expected to be a step closer to intra-Afghan talks. The Office of the National Security Council in a statement confirmed the release of the prisoners, saying it was the fulfillment of a recent decree made
1TV: During his visit to Kabul two weeks ago, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told President Ashraf Ghani and his political rival Abdullah Abdullah to resolve their differences and make a deal with the Taliban or US could not only cut $1 billion in financial aid to Afghanistan but also could pull all of
By Ayesha Tanzeem VOA News April 7, 2020 ISLAMABAD – The Afghan Taliban said Tuesday they will now approach the Americans to resolve the prisoner release issue, after telling its technical team in Kabul to stop participating in what they called “fruitless meetings” with representatives of Afghan government. The release of up to 5,000 Taliban
Ayaz Gul VOA News April 5, 2020 ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN – The United States has linked international aid for Afghanistan to the settlement of a protracted political crisis, which has seen the war-shattered country politically paralyzed and threatens to derail a nascent peace-building deal with the Taliban insurgency. Separately, an American military spokesman has rejected insurgent
Tolo News: The Taliban in a statement on Sunday said the deal that they signed with the US on Feb. 29 has been “violated” in clear instances by the United States and its allies. In their statement, the group connected the violation of the deal to the delay in the release of 5,000 prisoners from
Tolo News: President Ashraf Ghani has publicly proposed that the leadership of the peace council be taken on by his political opponent Abdullah Abdullah, who disputed the recent election results and has announced a parallel government. The two sides could not reach an agreement when US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Kabul last month
Press TV April 2, 2020 Afghanistan is set to release from prison 100 Taliban militants in a prisoner exchange for 20 of its security forces personnel, the government and Taliban sources say. Both sides on Thursday confirmed that the Taliban prisoners were to be released at the Bagram military base north of the capital, Kabul.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty April 1, 2020 The UN Security Council has called on political rivals in Afghanistan to “rally together” and finalize talks with the Taliban to help end the country’s long, costly war. Ingrid Hayden, the UN secretary-general’s deputy special representative for Afghanistan, said on March 31 that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and political rival
1TV: Afghan president’s political rival Abdullah Abdullah on Tuesday said that formation of an “inclusive” negotiating team was an “important step” to facilitate intra-Afghan peace talks. In a statement on Facebook, Abdullah said although election-related political crisis remains unresolved, he is committed to not allow peace to be overshadowed by differences. Click here to read