WASHINGTON – US Welcomes The Development In Afghan Peace Process. The United States, on Monday, welcomed the latest development in the Afghan peace process. This comes after the Taliban and Afghan government released some of the prisoners held in each other’s captivity.
According to details, US Special Representative for Afghanistan’s Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, welcomed the development. He described it as an important step in the peace process.
Khalilzad tweeted that US welcomes the release of prisoners by both the Afghan government and the Taliban. The release of prisoners is an important step in the peace process and the reduction of violence. The potential for COVID-19 outbreaks in prisons poses a real threat and all the more reason to move urgently.
He emphasised that both sides should accelerate efforts to meet targets specified in the US-Taliban agreement as soon as possible.
Earlier on Sunday, Taliban released 20 prisoners of the Afghan government who were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Kandahar. The Afghan government has so far released more than 300 Taliban prisoners.
As per the US-Taliban peace deal signed on February 29, 2020, the Afghan government would release 5,000 Taliban prisoners, while the armed group would free 1,000 Afghan prisoners of the Kabul administration prior to the start of intra-Afghan negotiations.
US Welcomes The Development In Afghan Peace Process.