The Parliament Speaker, Mir Rahman Rahmani has opposed President Ghani’s announcement over calling the Loya Jirga to make decision on the fate of Taliban prisoners, saying it was against the law, arguing that the parliament should decision in this regard.

He wrote on his Facebook page on Wednesday that he had met President Ghani and told the president that while the two chambers of parliament are present, calling the Loya Jirga was against the law.

The government is to convene the Jirga this week to consult with the people’s representatives if release hundreds of Taliban prisoners.

The government is expected to release 5,000 imprisoned insurgents under the February peace deal signed the militants signed with the United States. Some 4,600 of the prisoners have been released, but Ghani refuses requests to free the remaining 400, claiming that they are responsible for big crimes such as the 2017 truck bomb close to German embassy that killed more than 100 people.

Now, the president says that his administration was not authorized to release or keep the insurgents and calls on a Jirga to decide.

“The two chambers of parliament are active and the big issues like the release of prisoners and the intra-Afghan talks should be assessed in consultation with them”.

The Taliban who agreed on a three-day cease fire last week for Eid festival, insists on the release of all of their 5,000 comrades, warning not to hold talks with the government until the last prisoner was freed.

http://www.afghanistantimes.af/parliament-rejects-loya-jirga-as-illegal/