Taliban negotiators on Sunday condemned what they called “interference” in the US-Taliban agreement on prisoner release by the European Union and the Afghan government. Reports suggested last week that Western nations backed the Afghan government’s reluctance to release several Taliban militants, who were blamed for major attacks including a deadly 2017 truck bombing near the Germany embassy in capital Kabul. Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen said on Saturday the government has so far released their 3500 prisoners while Taliban have freed 676 government’s prisoners. Shaheen gave the figures in a reply on Twitter. A Taliban negotiator said the agreement about the prisoner exchange was between the Taliban and the US. “The release of 5000 prisoners was signed with the US, who arrested them in different operations and from different places and put them in jails,” the Taliban official told Daily Times. “The two outsiders, the puppet Kabul administration and the European Union, do not have the right to interfere,” said the Taliban leader, who was speaking off-the-record. When asked if a date has been decided for the intra-Afghan negotiations, he said time for the intra-Afghan dialogue depends on the US that how long they take for the release of the remaining Taliban prisoners. The Taliban-US agreement signed in February says up to 5,000 prisoners of the Taliban and up to 1,000 prisoners of the Afghan government will be released by March 10, the first day of the intra-Afghan dialogue. The UN’s top envoy in Afghanistan Deborah Lyons told the Security Council on Thursday that she is “cautiously optimistic” that the talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban negotiation teams will start in the next few weeks in Doha. “As the two sides embark on what will likely be a long and complex series of talks, I have encouraged them to show the necessary flexibility and foresight, the commitment to peace and, most importantly, compassion for their people that will be needed to bring these negotiations to a successful conclusion,” Lyons, who is also head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), said. Earlier, another Taliban leader had told Daily Times that the Taliban leadership council or Rahbari Shura had in principle agreed to start the dialogue if conditions in the agreement with the US are implemented. For the Taliban, withdrawal of all foreign troops and release of their 5000 prisoners are the two important conditions and there has been progress on both. The US has already reduced the number of troops to 8,600 from 13000 and a latest CNN report said 4000 more troops will be withdrawn by the fall. The Afghan government has freed nearly 3500 Taliban prisoners and more could be released in the coming weeks. “Intra-Afghan dialogue will start when the process of the release of prisoners is completed,” the Taliban negotiator said, adding this is the first condition of the agreement signed in February. The Taliban chief Sheikh Haibtullah had asked the Council’s members to share their proposals to finalize an agenda for the intra-Afghan negotiations, he said. The purpose of the negotiations between the Taliban and political leaders will be to determine a future political roadmap. The process will be the most difficult phase in the peace process even than the Taliban-US deal as Taliban could come up with very tough demands like enforcement of Islamic Shariah, resignation of the current government, huge share in the new set up, reforms in the security institutions, amendments in the constitution and many more. The Taliban could demand the president’s office or another executive position like the prime minister or the chief executive with top ministries including interior, higher education as well as share in other positions like governors and diplomats, according to a Taliban leader. It would be a difficult task to convince the Taliban to handover their controlled areas to the central authority. The fate of the thousands of the Taliban fighters is also a major issue. Where do the Taliban fighters go? Will they join the security forces? How their jihadi mentality will be changed? If they join the forces, who will bear their expenses? These are the issues that will need a tough discussion. A latest UN report this month estimated that there were 55,000 to 85,000 Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. Taliban facilitators and non-combatants could bring the total figure to 100,000, according to the report. The intra-Afghan is expected to start in Qatar and future sessions could be held in other countries including Uzbekistan, Germany, Norway and even China. Meanwhile, the US State Department has said Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad departed on Sunday for travel to Doha, Islamabad, and Tashkent. “At all three locations, Ambassador Khalilzad will urge support for all Afghans to meet their remaining commitments ahead of intra-Afghan negotiations, specifically reduced violence and timely prisoner releases,” a statement said. Ambassador Khalilzad is joined by U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) CEO Adam Boehler and his team. Afghan peace, economic growth, and regional connectivity are closely linked and mutually supportive. The delegation will explore investment opportunities and partnerships in a range of sectors to advance the economic recovery of Afghanistan and support sustained peace and stability in the region. Due to the challenges of travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ambassador Khalilzad, CEO Boehler, and their delegation will also conduct meetings with Afghan officials throughout the trip remotely via video.