Afghan Security Council Warns Any Propaganda Could Sabotage Prisoner Swap Process

KABUL (Sputnik) - Any propaganda, including on the part of the Taliban movement that refused to agree on a ceasefire and increased violence against Afghans, could hinder the process of prisoners exchange in Afghanistan, Javid Faisal, the spokesman for the National Security Council, said on Saturday.

"Taliban haven't agreed to a ceasefire and instead, increased violence against Afghans to take hostages. Thus, the number of prisoners changes continuously. The release of prisoners is a complex technical and legal process. Any propaganda in that regard will sabotage the process", Faisal wrote on Twitter.

The statement comes after on Thursday, the council announced that 100 prisoners would be released by 31 March.

Afghan policemen stand next to a captured Taliban fighter after a gun battle near the village of Shajoy in Zabol province, Afghanistan March 22, 2008.

© REUTERS / Goran Tomasevic

On 29 February, the US and the Taliban inked a peace agreement in the Qatari capital of Doha, according to which an intra-Afghan negotiation was scheduled to begin on 10 March. However, the dual power crisis in Afghanistan and Kabul's reluctance to exchange prisoners with the Taliban resulted in a standstill in the peace process. The lack of progress prompted US State Secretary Mike Pompeo to visit Afghanistan on Monday to resuscitate the talks.