{"id":56950,"date":"2020-03-11T11:33:28","date_gmt":"2020-03-11T11:33:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/03\/11\/afghans-set-to-release-1500-taliban-us-wants-less-violence\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T10:38:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T10:38:07","slug":"afghans-set-to-release-1500-taliban-us-wants-less-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2020\/03\/11\/afghans-set-to-release-1500-taliban-us-wants-less-violence\/","title":{"rendered":"Afghans set to release 1,500 Taliban; US wants less violence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">KABUL, Afghanistan \u2014 After a series of delays, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani issued a decree early Wednesday promising to release 1,500 Taliban prisoners as a goodwill gesture to get intra-Afghan negotiations started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2020\/02\/29\/all-us-troops-to-leave-afghanistan-in-14-months-if-taliban-meets-commitments-of-peace-deal-signed-today\/\" target=_blank>recent peace deal<\/a> signed between the United States and the Taliban called for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2020\/03\/01\/afghan-peace-deal-hits-first-snag-over-prisoner-releases\/\" target=_blank>the release of up to 5,000 prisoners<\/a> ahead of the much sought-after negotiations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There was no official response from the Taliban, but The Associated Press saw a letter that Mullah Nooruddin Turabi, the head of the Taliban\u2019s Prisoners Commission, sent to the prisoners, their families and Taliban leaders promising there would be no intra-Afghan talks until all the prisoners are released.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Pashto-language letter was sent last weekend. It says the Taliban would verify that each prisoner released is among those on the list given to an American delegation.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2020\/03\/10\/centcom-boss-say-military-plans-for-withdrawal-from-afghanistan-not-developed-yet\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4702494.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">CENTCOM boss says military plans for withdrawal from Afghanistan not developed yet<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">\u201cWe\u2019ve watched the Taliban compress and crush ISIS presence on the ground in southern Nangarhar.&quot;<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, the presidential decree went on to say the first round of 1,500 prisoners will be selected based on age, health and the length of their sentences already served. The released prisoners, who will be biometrically identified, will also have to give a written guarantee that they will not return to the battlefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The remaining 3,500 prisoners will be released after intra-Afghan negotiations begin and 500 will be released every two weeks providing the Taliban reduce violence on the battlefield, Ghani\u2019s decree said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"4928\" height=\"3280\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1204648012.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"Afghan Taliban militants\" class=\"wp-image-93745\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1204648012.jpg.jpg 4928w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1204648012.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1204648012.jpg.jpg?resize=768,511 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1204648012.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,682 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1204648012.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1022 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1204648012.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1363 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 4928px) 100vw, 4928px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Afghan Taliban militants and villagers attend a gathering as they celebrate the peace deal in Afghanistan&#8217;s Alingar district of Laghman Province on March 2, 2020. (Noorullah Shirzada\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, even if the Taliban agree to start negotiations, Kabul\u2019s political turmoil and relentless bickering between Ghani and his main rival, Abdullah Abdullah, who has also sworn himself in as Afghanistan\u2019s president, have left Kabul struggling to come up with a united negotiating team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ghani\u2019s decree came as the U.S. State Department issued a statement saying that<a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2020\/03\/05\/afghanistan-violence-must-ease-for-peace-deal-with-taliban-to-advance-pompeo-says\/\" target=\"_blank\"> the level of violence is \u201cunacceptable,\u201d<\/a> and that while the Taliban have stopped attacks against the U.S.-led coalition forces and in Afghan cities, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2020\/03\/04\/esper-says-taliban-not-honoring-deal-as-us-warplanes-bail-out-afghan-forces\/\" target=\"_blank\">the violence in the countryside<\/a> remains too high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The statement also said Afghanistan\u2019s \u201cpresidential electoral crisis\u201d \u2014 an apparent reference to the two inaugurations and political chaos \u2014 has delayed the establishment of a national negotiating team and the start of intra-Afghan talks, which were to begin on Tuesday in Oslo, Norway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite the political chaos in Kabul and increased violence on the battlefield, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2020\/03\/09\/us-begins-troop-withdrawal-from-afghanistan-official-says\/\" target=_blank>the United States has started withdrawing its troops<\/a> in keeping with the deal it signed on Feb. 29 with the Taliban. In the first phase, Washington will reduce its troops contingent to 8,600, down from the current 13,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2020\/03\/02\/esper-gives-go-ahead-to-begin-drawdown-of-american-forces-in-afghanistan\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6030326.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Esper gives go-ahead to begin drawdown of American forces in Afghanistan<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">That deal is \u201cconditions based,\u201d Esper explained.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the Taliban adhere to their commitments to deny terrorists safe havens in Afghanistan, Washington will withdraw the remainder of its troops over 14 months, according to the agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When it was signed, the U.S.-Taliban deal was touted as Afghanistan\u2019s best chance at finding peace after 40 years of relentless war while offering the United States an exit after nearly 19 years and its longest war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">President Donald Trump has expressed increasing frustration with the Afghan government and its security forces\u2019 inability to police and manage their own affairs. But almost from the beginning the unraveling began as the Taliban returned to the battlefield and Afghanistan\u2019s politicians stepped up their feuding as Washington\u2019s Special Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad scrambled to find a way out of the impasse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the end, both Ghani and Abdullah declared themselves president. The United States and other international players attended Ghani\u2019s ceremony while urging both men to negotiate a single government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Associated Press writer Kathy Gannon in Islamabad contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-smg-jwplayer-video\"><atype-video-jwplayer nostick=\"true\" playlisturl=\"https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/v2\/playlists\/fCzRqMW8?tags=4cdd05b5-8a5f-426c-9de7-a8c58acbd0dd\" poster=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/video-poster-4cdd05b5-8a5f-426c-9de7-a8c58acbd0dd.jpg\" aspectratio=\"16 \/ 9\" mute autostart=\"false\"><\/atype-video-jwplayer><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Her Excellency Roya Rahmani talks about her home nation&#8217;s growing role in accepting responsibility for its own security.<\/figcaption><\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A recent peace deal signed between the United States and the Taliban called for the release of up to 5,000 prisoners ahead of the much sought-after negotiations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":95665,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":13,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,13,24,89,16,26,65],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1806,3108],"class_list":["post-56950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"KJ3FU5HR3NDTJESYM2E76VBH5U","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-military\/2020\/03\/11\/afghans-set-to-release-1500-taliban-us-wants-less-violence\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Afghans set to release 1,500 Taliban; 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