Afghan govt may free Taliban prisoners, send delegation to Doha

The Afghan government will free all remaining Taliban prisoners later on Wednesday, and the government delegation is scheduled to leave for intra-Afghan talks in Doha tonight or Thursday, Fraidoon Khawzoon, spokesperson for Abdullah Abdullah, the chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, told Sputnik.

However, a security source told Sputnik that the government will free all Taliban prisoners except the ones whose release is opposed by France and Australia. The two countries object to the release of Taliban prisoners suspected of deadly attacks against their citizens.

Local sources in Kandahar said that the Taliban, in return, released four Afghan Army commandos last night.

Abdullah said last week that the talks would begin in the first week of September, but the Taliban did not back the move. The release of prisoners on both sides is a pre-condition for peace talks, which was initially agreed by the Taliban and the US in February. (/Sputnik)

( With inputs from ANI )