New Delhi (NVI): Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani today convened Loya Jirga, a council or large assembly of Afghan leaders, to decide whether 400 hardened Taliban inmates should walk free or remain imprisoned, a crucial move on which intra-Afghan talks depend.
The three-day gathering is expected to draw over 3,000 delegates from all walks of life in the country. The meeting is a crucial move that could pave the way for negotiations to end a years-long war that have ravaged Afghanistan.
President Ghani in his inauguration speech to the members of the Loya Jirga in Kabul today reiterated that neither he nor the country has the legal authority to decide on their future, reports TOLO news.
“Based on the Constitution, the release of these 400 prisoners is not within the authority of the president of Afghanistan. We have passed through major hurdles to reach this point, we have reached a very sensitive and critical moment. The holding of this Jirga demonstrates my commitment to the implementation of the Constitution,” Ghani was quoted as saying by TOLO news in his opening remarks at the Loya Jirga.
Ghani further stated that the Taliban have said that they will start direct talks with the Afghan government and civil society faction in three days if these 400 prisoners are released. However, they have also warned of continued bloodshed if these inmates are not released, according to Ghani.
Ghani has also welcomed the US initiative for peace. “We commend the efforts of the United States government to restore peace and find a political settlement. We respect any decision by the United States about a possibility of withdrawal of their military forces from Afghanistan,” Ghani was quoted as saying by the Afghan news website.
The US has also welcomed the Afghan initiative towards the release of Taliban prisoners, commending the participants of Loya Jirga to consolidate the national support for peace.
Earlier today, ahead of the convening of the Loya Jirga, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed the move to expeditiously release the remaining Taliban prisoners, which he said was the last obstacle to begin the intra-Afghan negotiations.
The Taliban have, however, boycotted the meeting, describing it as an “illegitimate debate” that is delaying the process to end a long conflict that has claimed thousands of lives since US troops moved in the country in 2001.
The prisoners were named on a 5,000-member list handed to the government by the Taliban. The Afghan government has so far released 4,600 prisoners on this list but has refrained from releasing the remaining 400, reports TOLO news.
President Ghani today said he does not have the constitutional authority to release the 400 prisoners and, therefore, is convening the national level council to decide on the fate of inmates.
-ARK
