Daily Times

A day after Afghan government refused to release 15 senior Taliban commanders, the Taliban on Tuesday broke off talks with Kabul on release of prisoners.

Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen also announced to immediately withdraw its negotiators from Kabul, accusing the Afghan government of ‘violating peace agreement’ by suspending release of the prisoners. Taliban prisoners should have been released earlier in accordance with the agreement that would pave the way for the start of the intra-Afghan dialogue, he posted on his Twitter handle.

A senior Afghan official, however, said on Tuesday that the government is ready to continue talks with the Taliban. Office of Public and Strategic Affairs Director General Waheed Omar told a news conference in Kabul that talks on prisoners need more time.

Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen told Daily Times that 15 commanders are on the list of prisoners that was given to the US officials and should be released in accordance with the agreement with the United States signed in late February.

Taliban sent a three-member team to Kabul last week for verification of the prisoners for their release. Taliban officials had been involved in talks with Afghan officials in the presence of Qatari diplomats and ICRC officials, however both sides have yet to agree on the exchange of prisoners.

Earlier, Shaheen in a series of tweets accused the Afghan government of making excuses to delay release of Taliban prisoners. “We sent a technical team of the Prisoner’s Commission to Kabul for verification and identification of our prisoners as release of prisoners was to start as per the signed agreement and the promise made (to us). But, unfortunately, their release has been delayed under one pretext or another till now,” he said, adding that Taliban technical team will not participate in ‘fruitless meetings’ with relevant sides.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday said a US-led Afghan peacemaking drive has seen progress since he visited Kabul last month to persuade the Afghan president and his main political foe to end their leadership feud. “We’ve made some progress, but we see them posturing in the media, we see statements that come out,” Pompeo told a State Department news conference.

Pompeo paid a one-day visit to Kabul on March 23 to pressure Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and political rival Abdullah Abdullah to end a feud over a disputed September presidential election that saw them both claim victory and hold competing inaugurations.

Pompeo told the news conference all of the Afghan sides must begin negotiations on a political settlement that ends decades of war. “I’m confident in the days ahead we’ll have things that look like steps backward, but I’m also hopeful that all the parties are sincere and wanting what’s good for the Afghan people,” he said.