France has asked the Afghan government not to include Taliban fighters convicted of killing French citizens in a prisoner release deal, the France Foreign Ministry said on Saturday, Reuters reported.

The Afghan government has agreed to release 400 “hard-core” prisoners as a move toward peace talks with the Taliban, and an official said on Friday that 80 of these convicts had been freed so far.

“France is particularly concerned by the presence, among the individuals liable to be released, of several terrorists convicted of killing French citizens in Afghanistan,” the statement said.

 “It firmly opposes the liberation of individuals convicted of crimes against French nationals, in particular soldiers and humanitarian workers,” it said.

“As a result, we have immediately asked the Afghan authorities not to proceed with the release of these terrorists,” it added.

In a recent opinion essay for the Washington Post, Ghani said that the Afghan people have paid a heavy price for peace and that the Taliban must accept the current Afghanistan.

https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/france-asks-afghan-govt-not-free-several-taliban-prisoners