Abdullah: Taliban Prisoners Released in Hope for Peace

Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the High Council for National Reconciliation, on Saturday said the Taliban prisoners were released in the hope for ending the war or reducing violence in the country, but the expectations from the move were not met.

Addressing Herat Security Dialogue, Abdullah said the Afghan government will never shut the doors for peace.

“The release of the Taliban’s prisoners was done with the hope that they will end the war with the start of the talks or at least agree on a humanitarian ceasefire,” said Abdullah.

The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) has said that over 7,600 civilians were killed and wounded in conflicts in Afghanistan so far this year.

“From the figure, 2,342 were killed. Among those killed are 253 women and 452 children,” said Naeem Nazari, the deputy of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC).

At the same event, families of war victims criticized the absence of their representatives in the peace process.

“Justice has not been served,” said Nida-ul-Haq Shamalzai, an activist rallying for the rights of the war victims in the peace process.

“It looks like political talks, therefore, we can not expect any social discussions,” said Jaffar Mahdawi, a former MP.

At the security dialogue, speakers held talks on the solutions that could help end the war in Afghanistan.

“We want to raise the shortcomings and the leakages that the Afghan peace has got over the past four decades,” said Davood Muradian, chairman of Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS).