Afghanistan prepares for 100 Taliban prisoner swap

KABUL: Afghanistan began the process of releasing from jail 100 Taliban militants in a prisoner swap for 20 of its security forces, a senior security official and a Taliban representative said.

It is the first step towards freeing 6,000 prisoners held by the Afghan government and the insurgent group, among confidence-building measures key to the success of a peace deal between the United States and the Taliban to end nearly two decades of war.

“It was decided in the morning that 100 Taliban should be released in exchange for 20 members of Afghan security forces today,” said a senior official in the office of President Ashraf Ghani yesterday.

The names of those to be released had been sent to prison authorities, added the official, who sought anonymity because he had not been authorised to speak to the media.

The Taliban have said the swap begins this week as teams from the warring sides work out details and logistics for receiving prisoners amid a coronavirus pandemic.

“The technical issues require some time,” said Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesperson.

“I think the release of 100 Taliban fighters and 20 Afghan security force members will happen either tomorrow or the day after.”

Both sides confirmed the Taliban prisoners are to be released at the Bagram military base north of Kabul.

A Taliban team of three arrived in Kabul on Tuesday to begin the prisoner exchange process and met Afghan officials despite a widespread lockdown against the virus, which has caused 239 infections and four deaths in Afghanistan.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hailed Tuesday’s developments a week after visiting both government leaders in Kabul and Taliban representatives in Qatar’s capital of Doha, where the Afghan militants have an office, to urge the peace process forward.