Afghanistan’s government has confirmed the release of 100 Taliban prisoners following threats from the Taliban that they would walk away from peace negotiations brokered by the United States.
Initially, the Afghan government refused to release the prisoners unless the Taliban agreed that the released would not return to the battlefield but the Taliban objected stating that they had not agreed to these preconditions.
On 29 February, the US signed a deal with the Taliban agreeing to the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners in return for a 1,000 pro-government captives. It is important to note that Afghan government was not a signatory to this agreement.
The US has stated within the deal that it would withdraw US and foreign troops from the region by July 2021 in return for security guarantees from the Taliban. The Taliban currently controls 40% of the territory in Afghanistan.
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