His visit to Qatar was for talks with the Taliban who have stood firm on their demand that the Ashraf Ghani government in Kabul release 5,000 Taliban prisoners before the intra-Afghan peace talks can begin. The meeting focused on the speedy release of prisoners and inter-Afghan talks," Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said in a Twitter post on Thursday. On their part, the Taliban had said they would release up to 1,000 Afghan prisoners as part of plans to start the peace talks. The two countries have started an air corridor that brings Afghan products to India and takes back Indian goods to Afghanistan. “In Islamabad, he will meet with Pakistani officials and also discuss the Afghan peace process," it said.

Source: Mint May 07, 2020 07:52 UTC