Afghan President orders to release 2,000 Taliban prisoners

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Sunday (local time) ordered a release of up to 2,000 Taliban fighters from prison, his spokesperson Sediq Sediqqi said.

On Saturday, the Taliban declared a ceasefire to honour Eid ul-Fitr. Ghani welcomed the initiative and announced that the process of releasing Taliban prisoners would be expedited, urging the group to do the same. “President Ghani today initiated a process to release up to 2,000 Taliban prisoners as a goodwill gesture in response to the Taliban’s announcement of a ceasefire during Eid.

The Afghanistan government is extending the offer of peace and is taking further steps to ensure the success of the peace process,” Sediqqi said in a tweet. On February 29, the US and the Taliban signed a peace deal in the Qatari capital of Doha, stipulating a beginning of intra-Afghan negotiations as well as prisoners’ exchange.