India supports intra-Afghan negotiations: MEA on release of 400 Taliban prisoners
Aug 14, 2020
New Delhi [India], August 14 : India has taken note of the developments in Afghanistan regarding the release of 400 Taliban prisoners and supports intra-Afghan negotiations, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday.
"We have taken note of the development. India supports peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan. We also support the intra-Afghan negotiations," MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said at a weekly briefing.
The remarks by the MEA comes after the Loya Jirga (grand assembly) on August 9 approved the release of 400 Taliban prisoners as a goodwill gesture in a major breakthrough that will pave the way for intra-Afghan talks.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has signed a decree to release 400 Taliban prisoners, as part of efforts to begin intra-Afghan talks, a source at the Presidential Palace said.
The release of prisoners was being considered as the last hurdle into opening peace talks between the internationally-backed Afghan government and the Taliban under a peace deal between the group and the US.
The Afghan government has said they have released over 4,600 Taliban prisoners over a period of time, which is 400 less than the number decided during the US-Taliban deal.
On February 29, the US and Taliban signed the peace agreement in Doha to end the two-decades-old war in Afghanistan.
