Afghan President Ashraf Ghani confirmed on Wednesday that his government had implemented all its commitments to start peace talks with the Taliban, while Kabul sent a “technical team” to Qatar to prepare for the upcoming talks.
Ghani´s comments came after Kabul overcame a major impasse with the rebel group on Monday by resuming the prisoner exchange process, which was a major obstacle to starting negotiations between the two rivals in Doha.
Ghani told a team of negotiators during a meeting at the presidential palace that "the government has fulfilled all its obligations in the peace process that the international community seeks," according to his office in a statement.
He stressed that "the release of Taliban prisoners is clear evidence of the government´s commitment to peace."
Kabul was reluctant to release the last 400 Taliban prisoners whom President Ashraf Ghani described as "a danger to the world", before a team of senior Afghan officials agreed to release them in order to make the peace talks succeed.
A high-ranking government official told AFP, requesting anonymity, that Kabul has released about two hundred Taliban prisoners since Monday, noting that "the process of releasing Taliban prisoners will continue today as well."
The government has not yet confirmed whether the release has been completed.
Paris and Canberra opposed the release of militants on the list linked to the killing of French and Australian civilians and soldiers in Afghanistan.
It is not known whether these militants have been released specifically or not.
On the other hand, the insurgents released four members of the elite forces and are expected to release two others on Wednesday, according to a Taliban official.
"We expect the Taliban to abide by its obligations regarding the release of the remaining prisoners," Ghani´s spokesman Siddiqui Siddiqui wrote on Twitter.
Under the terms of an agreement between the United States and the Taliban in February, Kabul was supposed to liberate 5,000 fighters in exchange for the Taliban´s liberation of 1,000 Afghani soldiers.
Ghani explained that a "decisive stage for peace" had been reached, indicating that the talks could reduce the level of violence and achieve a permanent ceasefire in the country.
In turn, the Taliban declared their readiness to start peace talks "within a week" of the completion of the prisoner exchange, and blamed Kabul for delaying the negotiations so far.
"A small technical team" has been sent to Doha to prepare for the start of the peace talks, Najia Anwari, spokeswoman for the Ministry of State for Peace Affairs, told France Press.
And she continued, "Their presence there for logistical preparations."
Anwari said that the Kabul negotiating team will also leave for Doha "very soon."
