Peace talks between the government of Afghanistan and the Taliban could start in a matter of days after the insurgents said on Monday that they were ready to sit down once the promised release of a final group of fighters takes place.
The fate of some 400 Taliban prisoners has been a crucial hurdle to talks between the sides, which were committed to completing a prisoner exchange before negotiations could start.
On Sunday, thousands of Afghans approved the release at the end of a three-day loya jirga – a traditional Afghan gathering of tribal elders and other stakeholders sometimes held to decide controversial issues.
"Our stance is clear, if the prisoner release is completed, then we are ready for the intra-Afghan talks within a week," Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen told AFP.
Afghan state TV reported on Monday that talks would begin on August 16, although no date was confirmed.
"The Afghan government will start releasing the 400 Taliban prisoners within two days," National Security Council spokesman Javid Fasial said.
Mr Shaheen said the first round of talks would be held in Doha, Qatar, where a deal between the US and the Taliban was thrashed out last year.
The prisoner exchange was a key part of a deal signed by the Taliban and the United States in February, when Washington agreed to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan in return for a pledge from the insurgents to hold peace talks with the government in Kabul.
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An Afghan Northern Alliance fighter mans the front line against the Taliban on October 2, 2001 near Jabul os Sarache, 30 miles north of Kabul. Getty Images -
Abdullah Abdullah, chief executive of Afghanistan travelling via helicopter for the final campaign rally in Bamiyan, Afghanistan on September 25, 2019. Afghans will head to the polls on Saturday, September 28th. Getty Images -
Mustafa Tamanna, 10, son of Afghan reporter Zabihullah Tamanna, weeps during the funeral ceremony in Kabul, Afghanistan on June 7, 2016. Tamanna was killed by a rocket-propelled grenade fired by the Taliban. Getty Images -
Northern Alliance soldiers come back from the front line after a battle near Charatoy town in the north of Afghanistan on October 10, 2001. REUTERS -
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A French soldier from the 7th Mountain Regiment, part of the International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) stands on a boulder overlooking Kabul during a patrol August 3, 2002 in Afghanistan. The ISAF has been patrolling Kabul since January 2002, working with the government and a new police force to prevent the violence and lawlessness that threatened to engulf the city after a U.S.-led coalition forced the Taliban from power. Getty Images -
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The United States and Britain on October 7, 2001 launched a first wave of air strikes against Afghanistan. President George W. Bush said the action heralded a "sustained, comprehensive and relentless" campaign against terrorism. REUTERS -
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Afghan opposition Northern Alliance soldiers leap over a trench as they return from front line positions after battle near the town of Charatoy in the north of Afghanistan October 10, 2001. REUTERS -
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Marine Cpl. Jonathan Eckert of Oak Lawn, IL attached to India Battery, 3rd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment works his improvised explosive device (IED) sniffing dog Bee as they secure a compound during a patrol near Forward Operating Base (FOB) Zeebrugge on October 11, 2010 in Kajaki, Afghanistan. Getty Images -
Afghan refugees walk across the border into Pakistan on October 11, 2001 as they leave Afghanistan at the Chaman crossing point on the 4th day of U.S.-led air strikes against the ruling Taliban and terrorist networks in the country. Getty Images -
Anti-Taliban Afghan fighters watch several explosions from U.S. bombings in the Tora Bora mountains in Afghanistan on December 16, 2001. -
British Marines run under fire from the Taliban during a morning operation on March 18, 2007 near Kajaki in the Afghan province of Helmand. Getty Images -
Afghan Army troops prepare to board a British chinook helicopter from their base at Shorabak on March 12, 2007 in Southern Helmand province, Afghanistan. Getty Images -
British Marine Joe Harvey from Stafford, England (R), watches as British forces come under fire by Taliban insurgents on March 18, 2007 near Kajaki in the Afghan province of Helmand. Getty Images -
U.S. Army 101st Airborne 3-187 "Bravo" company soliders pass through a corn field while conducting a sensitive site exploitation (SSE) mission July 23, 2002 near the town of Narizah in Southeastern Afghanistan. Getty Images -
Scouts from 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), pull overwatch during Operation Destined Strike while 2nd Platoon, Able Company searches a village below the Chowkay Valley in Kunar Province, Afghanistan on August 22, 2006. US Army
The much-delayed talks were aimed at ending the almost two decades-old conflict that cost tens of thousands of lives.
Mr Shaheen said the Taliban delegation for peace talks would be led by Abbas Stanekzai, who was the group's chief negotiator in talks with Washington for the February deal.
The Afghan government has released almost 5,000 Taliban inmates, but authorities had baulked at freeing the final 400 demanded by the Taliban.
They were accused of serious offences, including scores of killings. Forty-four insurgents were of particular concern to the US and other countries for their role in high-profile attacks.
In its final resolution, the jirga said it approved releasing the militants "to remove the hurdles for the start of peace talks, stopping bloodshed and for the good of the public".
The jirga urged the government to monitor the freed prisoners to ensure they did not return to the battlefield and demanded an immediate and lasting ceasefire in the country.
But Mr Shaheen said the ceasefire would form part of the agenda during the negotiations with the Afghan government.
The family of French aid worker Bettina Goislard, who was murdered in Afghanistan in 2003, said they would not accept the release of her killers, who are on the list.
"Such a decision to free [them] made on the basis of horse-trading would be, to us, her family, inconceivable," Goislard's family told AFP.
Not all those who attended the jirga favoured the release of militants.
Lawmaker Belquis Roshan, a women's rights campaigner, had protested against their release on the first day of jirga, unfurling a banner that read: "Redeeming Taliban is national treason."
