Taliban team arrives in Kabul to monitor prisoner release

The arrival marked the first time a Taliban delegation has been in Kabul since the group was driven out by the US-led coalition in November 2001. The prisoner release is part of a peace deal signed last month by the Taliban and US that calls for the government's release of 5,000 Taliban and the Taliban's release of 1,000 government personnel and Afghan troops.

Kabul: A three-member Taliban technical team on Tuesday arrived in the Afghan capital to monitor the release of their prisoners as part of a peace deal signed by the militant group and the US, a spokesman for the insurgent group said.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the team's arrival in a tweet. It marked the first time a Taliban delegation has been in Kabul since the group was driven out by the US-led coalition in November 2001.

There was no immediate comment from the Afghan government on the team's arrival.

On Monday, Jawed Faisal, spokesman for the Afghan National Security Adviser's office, said government officials and the Taliban agreed during a video conference that the insurgent group should send a technical team to Kabul for face-to-face discussions on the release of Taliban prisoners. The International Committee of the Red Cross agreed to assist the team in getting to Kabul.

The prisoner release is part of a peace deal signed last month by the Taliban and US that calls for the government's release of 5,000 Taliban and the Taliban's release of 1,000 government personnel and Afghan troops.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and political opponent Abdullah Abdullah both declared themselves president in a parallel inauguration ceremony earlier this month. They have been locked in a power struggle and the discord has prompted Washington to say that it would cut $1 billion in assistance to Afghanistan if the two can't work out their differences.

Afghanistan's political turmoil and the rivalry between Ghani and Abdullah have impeded each step of talks with the Taliban. Negotiations between the Taliban and the government are supposed to come next under the peace agreement.

The peace deal calls for the eventual withdrawal of all 13,000 US soldiers from Afghanistan in exchange for guarantees from the Taliban that they will fight other militant groups, including the Islamic State group. The deal has been touted as Afghanistan's best chance yet for ending its relentless wars.

AP