(New York, N.Y.) – Yesterday, the
Afghan government announced the release of 100 Taliban prisoners in
accordance with the phased releases required under an agreement signed
on February 29 between the U.S. and Taliban officials. However, the
Taliban rejected the announcement, claiming they were
unable to verify which prisoners had been released. The Taliban
further stated they considered the prisoner exchange negotiations
suspended. The unilateral move pauses the fulfillment of the Afghan
government’s commitment to release 5,000 Taliban prisoners, and for
the Taliban to release 1,000 pro-government captives.
In the wake of the Taliban’s decision, Afghan forces
have faced violent attacks by Taliban forces. Rebels attacked security
outposts in Karistan on April 2, and ambushed security forces in
Sholgara on April 7.
The prisoner swap, which was originally supposed to
occur by March 10, encountered issues as the Afghan government claimed
the Taliban wanted 15 top commanders released and the Taliban accused
Afghan authorities of wasting time and delaying the process. Afghan
officials had offered to swap 400 low-threat prisoners instead of the 15
commanders requested by the Taliban in order to prevent high level
personnel from reclaiming power in the region, but the Taliban
rejected that offer.
As part of the U.S.-Taliban agreement, the U.S.
government agreed to draw its forces down from 13,000 to 8,600 in the
next three to four months, with the remaining U.S. forces withdrawing
in 14 months. In exchange, the Taliban agreed to renounce al-Qaeda and
prevent al-Qaeda and other groups from using Afghanistan as a base for
terrorism against the United States. The Taliban also agreed to
negotiate a permanent ceasefire with other Afghan militants and the
Afghan government. The U.S. troop drawdown is dependent on the Taliban
maintaining its commitments. The agreement also called for permanent
ceasefire and power-sharing talks that March between Afghan militant
groups as well as between the Taliban and the Afghan government.
To read CEP’s Taliban resource, please click here.
To read CEP’s Afghanistan resource, please
click here.
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