Afghanistan government to release 5,000 Taliban prisoners if violence eases

Despite initial setbacks, it seems like the US-Taliban peace deal is alive and kicking.Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has given-in to one of the Taliban's biggest demands — the release of its prisoners.

The president has signed a decree for the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners. But he's placed some conditions on their release.

1: Those released must give a written pledge that they will not return to the battlefield.

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2: The prisoners will be released in batches.

500 prisoners will be released every 2 weeks — until all 3,500 of the remaining prisoners are out of prison.Over-riding all of these conditions, of course, is the promise to reduce violence considerably.

So what brought about this change of heart in the Ashraf Ghani? The answer could very well be the parallel swearing-ins we saw on Monday.

With Abdullah Abdullah consistently questioning his legitimacy — Ghani is in dire need of international recognition. And there are reports that the US leveraged its support in exchange for the release of Taliban prisoners.

Taliban has reacted to Ghani's decision with caution. The group says they have handed over a list of the 5,000 prisoners they want to be released.

And today, their spokesperson confirmed that a prisoner release would be welcomed only if it included the prisoners who are mentioned on the list.

US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad welcomed Ashraf Ghani's move. And urged the 2 sides to get together and start the intra-afghan dialogue.

At the same time, Khalilzad made an important admission. That violence by Taliban continues to remain high. He urged the group to adhere by the tenets of the peace deal.

The u.S also scored another diplomatic coup at the UN security council.Its peace deal with the Taliban was unanimously endorsed as a 'significant step towards ending the war in Afghanistan'.

Its regional rivals China and Russia also supported the deal.China has in fact followed the US in supporting the Ghani govt in Afghanistan.

The ball is now fairly in the Taliban's court. In the last 24 hours, they have carried out 32 attacks in 15 provinces — killing 5 security forces and 2 civilians.The success of the upcoming talks will depend on Taliban scaling down violence.