Afghan President says Kabul has no commitment to release 5,000 Taliban prisoners

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said on Sunday that Kabul did not take the commitment to release 5,000 Taliban prisoners as a precondition for the intra-Afghan talks.

On Saturday, the United States and the Taliban signed a long-awaited peace deal in Qatar that sets the beginning of talks for March 10, provided that up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners are released from jail by that time.

In parallel, the US and the Afghan government released a joint statement, which states that the US will reduce the number of its troops in Afghanistan and that the complete withdrawal of the US and NATO troops from the country will be in 14 months.

"There is no commitment on the release of the 5,000 [Taliban] prisoners ... The release of prisoners is not the United States authority, but it is the authority of the government of Afghanistan," Ghani said as quoted by Tolo News broadcaster.

According to the Afghan president, the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners cannot be considered as a precondition for the intra-Afghan talks, but as part of the dialogue.

Spokesman for the Taliban political office Suhail Shaheen has confirmed that their delegation did not meet with members of the Afghan government on Saturday in Qatar, adding that the intra-Afghan talks must begin after building confidence and completing the process of releasing prisoners.