SHAFAQNA- Mehr News Agency: The Afghan government does not have authority over the release of the Taliban prisoners and the United States should act in that regard, Taliban spokesman Zabihollah Mujahid said in an interview with Mehr News Agency.
While the Taliban group had previously demanded the release of its prisoners held by Afghanistan government as a precondition for peace and ceasefire in Afghanistan, the group’s spokesman Zabihollah Mujahid told Mehr News Agency (MNA) that the Afghan government does not have authority over the release of the Taliban prisoners and the United States should act in that regard.
Mujahid touched upon the recent meeting between Taliban’s representative Mullah Brardar, who is also the co-founder of the armed group, and the commander of the NATO troops in Afghanistan, saying that the release of the Taliban prisoners and the withdrawal of foreign troops were among the main issues discussed at the meeting.
The spokesman added Mullah Brardar had also called on the American side in the extraordinary meeting with the commander of the foreign troops in Afghanistan to lift the sanctions on the group, secure the release the Taliban prisoners held by Afghanistan government and resolve the issues through dialogue.
He added that in the meeting, the American side had called on the Taliban to help consolidate security and peace in Afghanistan and not to use the Afghanistan territory to threaten other countries.
Mujahid further said about the meeting between the head of the Taliban’s political office in Qatar Mullah Brardar with the commander of foreign troops in Afghanistan that the US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and two Qatari officials were also present in the meeting and that it took place somewhere in Doha other than the Taliban’s political office.
The Taliban spokesman also expressed satisfaction with the talks in Qatar, saying that no negative issues have been raised in the talks so far, but a final decision has not been made yet, and it is too early to be able to predict the outcome.
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