The US agreement with the Taliban has found its first obstacle on Sunday. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has rejected the clause that provides for the release of guerrilla members. "The Government of Afghanistan has not pledged to release 5,000 Taliban prisoners," Ghani said the day after attending Qatar to the signing of that pact, presented as a first step towards reaching a political solution in that country. However, the president extends the truce that was respected during the past week.
"The United States lacks the authority to release prisoners, that is a prerogative that corresponds to the Government of Afghanistan," Ghani said during a press conference echoed by the Afghan website ToloNews. It is only the second time that the president appears before the media in his five years in office.
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Under the terms of the agreement, "The United States is committed to working with all parties involved for the release of political prisoners and combatants." The text provides that up to 5,000 imprisoned Taliban will be released in exchange for a thousand prisoners on the government side before March 10, to facilitate the initiation of the inter-agency dialogue. But Ghani denies that this measure is considered a precondition and argues that it should be part of the Taliban talks.
"An agreement that is reached behind closed doors will have basic problems in its execution from tomorrow," added the Afghan president in a little veiled criticism of the absence of his Government in the negotiations that led to the pact. But the Taliban still do not recognize the legitimacy of the Government of Kabul, which has forced the United States to make balances to count on its participation and offer the image that it will be incorporated into a second phase.
Prior to the signing of the US agreement with the guerrillas, a joint Afghan-US communiqué announced the troop reduction plans, presenting them within a bilateral framework. However, the issue of the exchange of prisoners appeared much more ambiguously: “The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan will participate in a debate facilitated by the United States with Taliban representatives on confidence-building measures, which will include the possibility of releasing a number significant of prisoners from both sides. ”
The president's objections may very well be a mere tactic to enforce the inter-agency dialogue that must begin now and in which the Government's participation is not clear. The US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, has mentioned an "inclusive" delegation with "important figures of the Government, key political parties, members of civil society and women" to speak with the Taliban.
The Government would like to determine the participants. However, the rifirrafe that Ghani maintains with his main rival, Abdullah Abdullah, who disputes the result of the last presidential elections, makes it difficult to form the team. In principle, only after the launch of these conversations, will the withdrawal of US troops begin, which is what both Washington and the guerrillas are looking for.
For the moment, the Afghan president has said that, for his part, "the reduction of violence will continue with the goal of reaching a definitive ceasefire." Kabul has informed the Taliban through General Scott Miller, head of US forces in Afghanistan. The guerrillas have not yet manifested themselves in this regard. The day before the political leader of the group, Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, told ToloNews that the ceasefire will come once the interim (transitional) government is agreed and implied that they would continue to attack the Afghan forces, although they would keep the truce with U.S.
