Taliban to release 20 Afghan government prisoners amid fragile peace process

The Taliban will hand over 20 prisoners as part of the reconciliation process with Kabul, a spokesman for the militant group announced on Sunday.

“Today, 20 prisoners of the Kabul administration will be released by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and handed over to ICRC in Kandahar,” the spokesman, Suhail Shaheen, said in a tweet.

The decision comes just days after the Taliban recalled its negotiators from Afghanistan, after accusing Kabul of intentionally delaying a prison exchange. The Afghan government has since released around 300 Taliban fighters as part of the swap.

The US and the Taliban signed an accord in February, under which the US-led coalition will slowly pull out of Afghanistan in exchange for Taliban security guarantees.

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