Taliban confirms prisoner swap with US
Afghanistan's acting Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi on Monday confirmed that the Taliban has freed an American engineer.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid announced that talks on the formation of a new government with Afghan political leaders were underway and that a new government will be announced soon.
“Our political officials met with leaders here in Kabul, their views are important, discussions are moving, there is hope for an announcement on the government soon,” TOLO News quoted Mujahid as saying on Sunday.
Meanwhile, members of the Taliban’s political office on Saturday met in Kabul with a number of politicians including former President Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah, the head of High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR), and discussions focused on the overall political situation including the formation of an inclusive government.
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The members of the Taliban’s political office who arrived in Kabul on Saturday include Shahabuddin Delawar, Abdul Salam Hanafi, Mullah Khairullah Khairkhaw and Abdul Rahmand Fida.
Abdullah in a Facebook post confirmed the meeting with the Taliban leaders, saying that discussions were focused on the political process and the formation of an inclusive government.
Some Afghan political leaders, however, criticized the way the talks are taking place, saying that the political process should be inclusive.
“I don’t see this game as a good one because it looks like a game of individuals, everyone tries to promote himself and does not show respect for the Afghans,” said Sayed Eshaq Gailani, the head of the Nahzat-e-Hambastagi Afghanistan party.
In the meantime, Atta Mohammad Noor, the former governor of Balkh, said that the next government will not be accepted if it is not inclusive.
“The war has not ended, we have a long way to go, we will test them (the Taliban), we will emerge again either to resolve it through an inclusive government or war.”
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