Afghanistan's Abdullah Says Most Released Taliban Prisoners Have Not Returned To Combat

Afghanistan's Abdullah Says Most Released Taliban Prisoners Have Not Returned to Combat

The majority of the released Taliban prisoners have not returned to the battlefield, Afghan Reconciliation Council Chairman Abdullah Abdullah said on Tuesday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd September, 2020) The majority of the released Taliban prisoners have not returned to the battlefield, Afghan Reconciliation Council Chairman Abdullah Abdullah said on Tuesday.

On February 29, the Taliban and the United States reached a landmark agreement in the Qatari capital of Doha. The key provisions of the deal were that the Taliban and the Afghan government release each other's prisoners - 1,000 and 5,000, respectively - and that the radical movement commits to reduce violence, as prerequisites of launching intra-Afghan talks.

"I do know that some have returned to the battlefield which is [in] violation of the agreement that they have made.

.. But I will say that the majority have not returned to the battlefield," Abdullah told reporters.

The Afghan government and the Taliban launched peace talks in the Qatari capital, Doha, earlier this month, after both sides successfully completed a long-awaited prisoner exchange arrangement. There is no timeline on the discussions, which are the first direct talks between the two warring sides.

Abdullah said at a press conference on September 13 that the Doha peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban would be lengthy, but the two sides were aware of the Afghan people's desire to end violence as soon as possible.