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Afghanistan on Thursday began the process of releasing 100 Taliban Islamist militants from jail in a prisoner swap for 20 of its security forces, a senior security official and a Taliban representative said.It is the first step toward freeing 6,000 prisoners held by the Afghan government and the insurgent group. The agreement is part of a number of confidence-building measures to give teeth to the peace deal signed between the United States and the Taliban to end nearly two decades of war."It was decided in the morning that 100 Taliban should be released in exchange for 20 members of Afghan security forces today," said a senior official in the office of President Ashraf Ghani.The names of those to be released had been sent to prison authorities, said the official, who sought anonymity because he had not been authorized to speak to the media.The Taliban said the swap would begin this week as teams from the warring sides work out technical details and logistics for receiving prisoners amid a coronavirus pandemic."The technical issues require some time," said Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman. "I think the release of 100 Taliban fighters and 20 Afghan security force members will happen either tomorrow or the day after."Both sides confirmed the Taliban prisoners are to be released at the Bagram military base north of the capital, Kabul. But the site for the release of the Afghan security forces has yet to be firmed up.
(CGTN)
