Kabul: The Afghan government and Taliban have been engaged in swapping prisoners on daily bases as part of the US-Taliban peace deal signed on February 29th in Qatari capital Doha.

Local officials in western Herat on Friday spoke about the release of 17 Afghan Security Forces by Taliban.

“The Afghan Security Forces, who are the figures of bravery and heroism and spent a longtime in enemy’s custody away from their families, have been welcomed and praised by the provincial governor,” the provincial governor’s office said in a statement.

The inmates have been the first batch freed by the militants in western Herat province.

After months of pressure by Washington, the Afghan government has freed hundreds of Taliban prisoners in an average of 100 inmates per day to fulfill the US-Taliban peace agreement. In return for their hundreds of prisoners’ release, the militants have thus far freed at least 150 Afghan Security Forces.

To cease reduction in violence and engaged in peace talks with the Afghan government, the Taliban have been insisting on release of their 5,000 prisoners held in government’s prisons.

The US peace special envoy for Afghanistan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad has recently kicked of its regional tripe to Qatar, India and Pakistan to discuss next phases of the Afghan peace process.

The Afghan government released about 31 Taliban prisoners on Wednesday from Puli-e-Charkhi prison in Kabul, bringing the number of released Taliban prisoners to 933, according to the National Security Council’s office.

The NSC said that with the release of 527 Taliban in the upcoming days the numbers will reach 1,500, and the "first round" of the prisoner release will be complete.

The Afghan government made an earlier pledge to release a total of 5,000 Taliban prisoners but only after the start of the intra-Afghan negotiations, and if violence was reduced in a way that leads to a countrywide ceasefire.

But the NSC spokesman, Javid Faisal said on Tuesday: "The Taliban does not have much interest in peace. We are witnessing an increase of violence by them every day and they martyr the people of Afghanistan.”

Recently, the Taliban in a statement welcomed the move and called for an expedited release of their prisoners to “save them” from the coronavirus and pave the way for the intra-Afghan negotiations.

The process continues amid hopes for beginning intra-Afghan negotiations, which have been delayed over issues around the prisoner release and other matters.

On Wednesday, The US peace envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, has met with the Taliban's deputy leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in Qatar and discussed the prisoner release, intra-Afghan talks and the US-Taliban peace agreement, the Taliban's spokesman Suhail Shaheen said.

The US State Department on Wednesday said that Khalilzad departed on May 5 for travel to Doha, New Delhi, and Islamabad.

“In Doha, Ambassador Khalilzad will meet with Taliban representatives to press for full implementation of the US-Taliban agreement,” it said,

The US-Taliban deal called for the Taliban to release up to 1,000 government prisoners, and for the Afghan government to free up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners before peace talks that were to begin on March 10.

So far, the Taliban has released 110 prisoners of the Afghan government.

https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/933-taliban-prisoners-freed-afghan-govt-more-promised