Prisoner Exchange Postponed Again

Inner Afghan peace is a long time coming. The Kabul leadership is delaying the exchange of prisoners with the radical Islamic Taliban. Meanwhile, they continue to attack soldiers.


The prisoner exchange between the Islamist Taliban and the Afghan government has been postponed again. "There will be no prisoners released tomorrow," tweeted National Security Council spokesman Javid Faisal. Actually, both sides had agreed on a compromise in a video conference a few days ago. Accordingly, 100 Taliban should have been released by March 31. This was decided for humanitarian reasons, the National Security Council announced on Thursday.

The Taliban also wanted to release prisoners. The militant group now only wants to send a team to Kabul for preliminary talks in the next few days, Faisal continued. The prisoner exchange had been postponed several times. The Afghan government and the Taliban have been standing still for weeks. The release of up to 5,000 prisoners was included in the agreement the United States signed with the Taliban on February 29 as a prerequisite for intra-Afghan peace talks. According to experts, the prisoners are considered the government's main means of pressure in Kabul to bring the Taliban to talks.

Disagreement over negotiating team

There is also controversy over the recently introduced negotiators from the Afghan government. The Taliban dismissed the 21-man team led by former head of the National Security Directorate, Masum Staneksai. "We will only meet for talks with a negotiating team that is in accordance with our agreements and is structured according to the established principles," said Taliban spokesman Sabiullah Mujahid.

Dead and injured in Taliban attacks

Meanwhile, violence continues in the country. Nationwide attacks by the radical Islamic Taliban killed at least 19 security forces on Monday night. According to the provincial governor, at least 14 people, including a civilian, died in attacks in the northern province of Tachar, around 50 kilometers from Kunduz. "If we don't get support, the district can fall into the hands of the enemy," said Provincial Governor Mohammad Omar.

In the southern province of Sabul, six soldiers were killed in attacks on checkpoints, a spokesman for the province said. An attack with a magnetic bomb also took place in the Afghan capital Kabul on Monday morning, the Interior Ministry said. At least four people were injured.