Ready for talks with Afghan government if prisoner swap is completed: Taliban

The Taliban on Thursday said they would begin peace talks with the Afghan government after Eid if prisoner swap agreement gets completed.

We are "ready to begin intra-Afghan negotiations immediately after Eid in case the process of the release of the prisoners is completed," Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said on Twitter.

Suhail added that the terrorist group are ready to release the remaining members of Afghan forces if Kabul freed all the members from their group "as per the list already delivered".

Meanwhile, US Special Envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad on Thursday condemned Afghan forces' aistrikes against Taliban, which killed eight civilians, including children in Herat on Wednesday.

"We urge all sides to contain the violence, protect civilians, and show necessary restraint as the start of intra-Afghan negotiations is so close," he further said on Twitter.

The US is withdrawing its troops from the country to honour its commitments of the agreement it signed with the terror group in February.

As per the agreement signed between US and Taliban, the Afghan government will release 5,000 Taliban members and the terror group will free 1,000 Afghan security personnel.

Afghanistan government and Taliban have signalled peace talks on multiple occasions but escalating violence by both the sides have hampered any development.