Taliban rules out taking part in Afghan talks until prisoners released

KABUL (Reuters) – Taliban militants will not take part in intra-Afghan talks until about 5,000 of their prisoners are released a spokesman said on Monday, presenting a major possible barrier to ending the war.

Under an accord between the US and the Islamist Taliban signed on Saturday, the two sides are committed to working toward the release of combat and political prisoners as a confidence-building measure.

The agreement calls for up to 5,000 jailed Taliban prisoners to be released in exchange for up to 1,000 Afghan government captives by March 10.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, not involved in the talks, has rejected that demand.

“We are fully ready for the intra-Afghan talks, but we are waiting for the release of our 5,000 prisoners,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters by phone.

“If our 5,000 prisoners – 100 or 200 more or less does not matter – do not get released there will be no intra-Afghan talks.”

The US has said it hopes negotiations toward a permanent political settlement and ceasefire can start in coming days, but Western diplomats and analysts see stark challenges ahead.

Ghani said on Sunday that US President Donald Trump had not asked for the release of the prisoners and the issue of prisoner releases should be discussed as part of a comprehensive peace deal.

“The Afghan government has not made any commitment to release 5,000 Taliban prisoners before the start of any potential negotiation,” Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for Ghani, said in response to the Taliban’s statements on Monday.