KABUL, April 8 (Xinhua) -- One hundred Taliban prisoners were released from Afghan government's prisons on Wednesday, marking the start of 5,000 Taliban inmates to be freed on parole, reported local media.
"Some 100 Taliban prisoners were released on Wednesday in consideration of age, medical condition, and the remaining time of sentenced imprisonment," reported Tolo News TV on its news bulletin.
The move is part of the ongoing peace and reconciliation process and also part of the efforts to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the report quoted a statement issued by the country's National Security Council as saying.
The release of 5,000 Taliban detainees is part of a peace deal inked between the Taliban and the United States on Feb. 29 in Qatar capital Doha. However, the Afghan government was not a signatory to the deal.
On March 11, Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani issued a decree to release 5,000 Taliban inmates on parole and the release of the first 1,500 prisoners was originally planned to start on March 14 by freeing 100 prisoners every day, but the process was repeatedly postponed.
The Taliban also agreed to launch direct peace talks with the government and agreed to free 1,000 Afghan government security force members.
The freed Taliban prisoners had passed through a biometric registration process and made written commitments, guaranteeing they would not return to the battlefield, according to the report.
Under the agreement between the Taliban and the United States, all the U.S. and NATO-led coalition forces would return home by July next year depending that Taliban meets the conditions envisioned in the agreement, including cutting ties with foreign terrorist groups.
Since Jan. 1, 2015, Afghan security forces have assumed the full security responsibilities from the NATO and U.S. forces.
Around 16,000 foreign troops, including about 13,000 U.S. forces, have remained in Afghanistan to train and assist local security forces in their fight against the insurgents.
