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KABUL: The government has released 52 Taliban prisoners as the process of prisoner swap continues with the hope of beginning of the peace negotiations.
Javed Faisal, a spokesman of the National Security Council, said Wednesday that the newly released people were held in the Pul-e-Charkhi central jail and the release was carried out to run the peace process as well to prevent further spread of Corona virus inside the prison.
“We call on the Taliban to speed up the release of people and government hostages and reduce violence,” Faisal said.
Meanwhile, a Taliban spokesman Suhail Shahin has said that they released 20 government troops on Tuesday in Kandahar province.
The government has so far released 902 Taliban prisoners and the insurgents have freed 120 government employees.
Faisal had earlier said that the process of releasing 1,500 prisoners ordered by President Ghani, would be soon completed. He had said that the rest of Taliban prisoners would be released when the direct talks begins.
Taliban demanded the release of their 5,000 comrades held by the government as part of the peace deal they signed with the United States late February.
They had vowed to free 1,000 government servants they hold.
The United States officials seem unhappy with the intensifying of violence by Taliban, with the secretary of defense Mark Esper criticizing that.
Taliban have lately increased attacks on security forces and civilians in different provinces.
