A traditional Afghan council is expected to back a proposal for the government to release a final group of 400 Taliban prisoners, a move that potentially paves the way for intra-Afghan peace talks.
Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the Loya Jirga gathering Afghan politicians and community leaders, said August 8 that all 50 committees of the assembly supported the release of the remaining 400 Taliban prisoners convicted of involvement in high-profile attacks in the country.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is expected to make a final decision on the Taliban prisoner release on August 9, when the council makes an official announcement on its third day of meeting.
The release of the prisoners is the last hurdle to opening peace talks between the internationally backed government in Kabul and the Taliban under a peace deal between the militants and the United States.
Abdullah, who is also head of the High Council for National Reconciliation, said that intra-Afghan peace talks can begin three days after a potential prisoner release.
The Loya Jirga committees also asked both sides of the conflict to observe an unconditional cease-fire ahead of intra-Afghan peace talks.
Kabul has released 4,600 Taliban inmates out of the 5,000 pledged in the landmark agreement signed in February by the United States and the Taliban, but authorities have balked at freeing the remaining prisoners demanded by the Taliban.
Ghani has said that he could not release the last batch of Taliban prisoners without the approval of the 3,200 delegates in the Loya Jirga, a traditional gathering of ethnic, religious, and political leaders who decide on matters of national importance.
A survey circulated at the Loya Jirga said the choice was between freeing the Taliban prisoners so that talks could begin, or refusing and the war would continue.
Among other things, the U.S.-Taliban deal calls on the Taliban to guarantee that Afghanistan will not be used as a staging ground for terrorist attacks on the United States or its allies.
Ahead of the Loya Jirga, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged attendees to take advantage of a “historic opportunity” to reach peace.
"We acknowledge that the release of these prisoners is unpopular," Pompeo said in a statement on August 6. "But this difficult action will lead to an important result long sought by Afghans and Afghanistan's friends: reduction of violence and direct talks resulting in a peace agreement and an end to the war."
Afghan officials have described the remaining prisoners as dangerous. Of the 400 Taliban prisoners left, around 200 are accused by the Afghan government of masterminding attacks on embassies, public squares, and government offices, killing thousands of civilians in recent years.
The Taliban says it has freed all 1,000 government prisoners it had pledged in the agreement with the United States and insists on its demand for the release of the remaining 400 prisoners on its list.
The United States has reportedly proposed the Taliban prisoners be transferred from Afghan jails to a location where they would be under both Taliban and Afghan government surveillance.
Despite the U.S.-Taliban deal, the Taliban attacks since February have killed 3,560 Afghan security personnel, according to the government.
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has documented more than 1,280 Afghan civilians deaths during the first half of 2020 -- mainly as a result of fighting between Afghan government forces and Taliban militants.