Afghanistan to release 1,500 Taliban fighters

UN Security Council adopts resolution welcoming progress in peace process

Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday issued a decree to release Taliban inmates on parole, and the release of the first 1,500 prisoners will start on Saturday, an official confirmed on Wednesday, as the United Nations backed a US-led push to end Afghanistan's 18-year war.

The two-page decree signed by Ghani, which requires all released Taliban prisoners to provide "a written guarantee to not return to the battlefield", is aimed at paving the way for direct talks with the hardline insurgent group.

The United States warned the Taliban that the current high level of violence was "not conducive to advancing the peace process" after the 15-member UN Security Council unanimously adopted a US-drafted resolution.

The US signed an agreement with the Taliban last month for a phased withdrawal of US forces if the Taliban keeps its commitments. It also prescribed the start of talks between the insurgents and an Afghan government delegation on a political settlement to end decades of conflict.

The prisoner release decree said the process will begin in four days.

"The process of releasing 1,500 Taliban prisoners will be completed within 15 days, with 100 prisoners walking out of Afghan jails every day," it said.

The decree said talks between the government and the Taliban will run parallel with the prisoner release, and requires the insurgents to stick to commitments to a reduction in violence.

Taliban commanders have sent vehicles to be ready to collect the prisoners and said they will honor the deal by handing over more than 1,000 government troops.

The Security Council on Tuesday adopted a resolution to welcome the recent progress in the peace process in Afghanistan.

Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the UN and president of the UN Security Council this month, asked the international community to help Afghanistan seize the opportunity of peace.

The international community should work together to help all parties in Afghanistan seize the opportunity and address the challenges, he told the Security Council after the adoption of a resolution to welcome a recent US-Taliban agreement.

"China welcomes the US-Afghan joint declaration and the signed agreement between the US and the Taliban. The Afghan parties and the US should work together to actively implement the agreement," he said.

Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Cherith Norman Chalet said the Taliban had taken steps to stop attacks in cities and against major bases.

"But more needs to be done and we urge them to also reduce violence against Afghan forces in the countryside to give intra-Afghan negotiations and peace the opportunity to succeed," she said.

On Wednesday, the Taliban said Ghani's plan violates the accord they had struck with the US in Qatar and they would not talk with the Afghan government until all 5,000 prisoners were freed.

Electoral crisis

Meanwhile, an escalating political feud is compounding the challenges, with US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus confirming an electoral crisis has delayed Ghani's naming of a national negotiating team. Ghani was sworn in for a second term on Monday, but the ceremony was marred by a rocket attack, while his political rival, former chief executive Abdullah Abdullah, held his own inauguration ceremony.

Both Ghani and Abdullah say they are Afghanistan's rightful leader following a disputed election in September.

"We are strongly against the establishment of any parallel administrations or government structures and we call on all concerned to come together and resolve differences constructively," British UN Ambassador Karen Pierce said in remarks directed at Adbullah.

Ghani has told US negotiators that he plans to announce "an inclusive team in the coming few days", Ortagus said.

If the talks make progress, the government said it will release a further 500 Taliban prisoners every two weeks until a total of 5,000 Taliban prisoners have been freed.

Agencies, Xinhua and Hong Xiao at the United Nations contributed to this story.