Mohammad Ashraf Ghani rejects Taliban’s precondition for peace parleys

KABUL: Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on Sunday refused the Taliban’s demand for the release of 5,000 detainees within 10 days, saying no precondition was acceptable for initiating intra-Afghan talks.

“No commitment has been made for the release of 5,000 prisoners. This could be included at the agenda of the talks with the Taliban and if anyone released should not take arm against the people of Afghanistan,” Ghani told reporters at the Presidential Palace here, a day after the signing of the highly-anticipated US-Taliban peace deal in Doha on Saturday. Ghani was responding to a senior representative at the Taliban’s liaison office in Doha, Sher Mohammad Abas Stanikzai remarks on Saturday that the “Kabul administration should release 5,000 inmates within 10 days” as a precondition for initiating intra-Afghan dialogue, reports Xinhua news agency. (IANS)

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