Afghan President Ashraf Ghani Confirms Exchange Of Taliban Militants For 2 University Professors

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published November 12, 2019 | 12:30 PM

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday announced his intention to release three senior Taliban members in exchange for two scholars of the American University in the Taliban's custody

KABUL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th November, 2019) Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday announced his intention to release three senior Taliban members in exchange for two scholars of the American University in the Taliban's custody.

In a video address, broadcast at around 10 a.m.

[05:30 GMT], Ghani said that Anas Haqqani, Abdul Rashid, and Mali Khan will be released and flown to Qatar in exchange for two prisoners - lecturers from the United States and Australia - to be released by the Taliban.

The deal is part of the government-Taliban peace talks, he added.

US national Kevin King and Australian national Timothy Weeks were kidnapped by the Taliban in 2016 in Kabul, where they worked at the American University.