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Ghani adamant that no more Taliban prisoners will be freed until bloodshed ends
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President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani said Thursday government will not release any more Taliban prisoners until the “bloodshed” in the country stops.
Addressing a press conference in Kandahar, Ghani stated that the Taliban needs to stop the violence before any more of their prisoners are released.
This comes after the group recently called for the release of an additional 7,000 prisoners, in line with a deal the Taliban signed with the US in February.
Ghani meanwhile said on Thursday: “If today I ask (order) to release 2,000 people (Taliban) would you (Ulema) release them? Definitely not!”
“First, they (Taliban) should stop the bloodshed then we will negotiate. Why are they afraid of stopping the bloodshed? My question is clear. If you (Taliban) want to get into politics, we are ready.”
Meanwhile, Ghani claimed the Taliban has destroyed 16 percent of Afghanistan’s infrastructure and capital investment, calling this an act of “fitna” – a word used to describe sedition to the extent where a person could be barred from practicing Islam.
Ghani stated that violence is not the solution for Afghanistan. “Peace does not come by killing, peace does not come from slander, but peace comes from acceptance.”
Meanwhile, First Vice President Amrullah Saleh, who had accompanied Ghani on his trip, said that the Taliban have not fulfilled their commitments agreed to as per their deal with the United States. He said the group has not cut ties with al-Qaeda.
“The Taliban pledged to remove 19 to 20 terrorist groups from Afghanistan. None of these (promises) have been implemented. You witnessed that the third high-ranking al-Qaeda leader was detected in Ghani,” Saleh said.
