Afghan govt releases 900 Taliban prisoners

The Afghan government released hundreds of Taliban prisoners yesterday, its single largest prisoner release since the US and the Taliban signed a peace deal earlier this year that spells out an exchange of detainees between the warring sides.

The government announced it would release 900 Taliban prisoners as a three-day cease-fire with the insurgents draws to an end. The Taliban had called for the truce during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr that marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

There were expectations that the prisoner release could lead to new reductions in violence, and Taliban officials were considering an extension of the cease-fire, a senior Taliban figure confirmed to The Associated Press.

“If these developments, like the announcement of prisoner releases, continues, it is possible to move forward with decisions like extending the brief cease-fire and to move in a positive direction with some minor issues,” the Taliban official said.

The prisoners were being released from Bagram prison, where the US still maintains a major military base north of Kabul, and from Pule-Charkhi prison on the eastern edge of the Afghan capital.

By late afternoon, the AP witnessed scores of men pouring out of the Bagram compound, presumably released prisoners. It wasn’t immediately possible to verify their numbers or whether they were all Taliban members. They were transported on six buses parked outside the prison.

An official at Bagram said 525 men were to be released but he spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorised to speak to the media.

No number was given for how many prisoners would be released from Pul-e-Charkhi.

In a tweet yesterday, Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen in Doha said the insurgent group planned to release “a remarkable number” of government prisoners. He called the Afghan government’s release of 900 “good progress”.

The prisoner release is part of the US deal with the Taliban, signed on February 29, to allow for the eventual withdrawal of US and Nato troops from Afghanistan, bringing to an end the country’s protracted war and America’s longest military involvement.