Taliban Say Top Members Met With US Special Representative, Discussed Intra-Afghan Talks

KABUL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th May, 2020) US Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad met with a delegation of the Taliban in Qatar on Wednesday to discuss the intra-Afghan negotiations and prisoner exchange between the militant group and Afghanistan's government, the Taliban said on Thursday.

Taliban's Deputy Leader Mullah Baradar and his team were participating in talks, which was also attended by Mutlaq Al-Qahtani, Special Envoy of Qatari Foreign Ministry for Counterterrorism and Mediation in Conflict Resolution.

The prisoner exchange and launch of the intra-Afghan talks became possible after the Taliban and the United States reached a peace deal.

However, the talks have been delayed due to Afghanistan's electoral crisis and mutual disagreements over the release of prisoners.

The Taliban group is demanding that the Afghan authorities release 5,000 prisoners on the basis of the peace deal. The Afghan government, in its turn, agreed to gradually release 1,500 members of the movement. According to the US-Taliban deal, the movement agreed to release 1,000 government prisoners.

The government has so far released 902 Taliban members, while the militant group has released 110 prisoners, the TOLOnews reported on Thursday.