Days after Afghanistan’s First Vice President Amrullah Saleh proposed executing Taliban prisoners to stop targeted killings, the Taliban warned the government of severe consequences, saying the peace process and executions can’t move at the same time.

According to a report on TOLOnews, a Taliban official said the 5000 Taliban prisoners who were released earlier were all on death row. The group said the government will face “severe consequences” if they proceed with the execution of any one of its jailed members. The move, they said, could also derail an already fragile peace process.

However, an officer at the Afghan Directorate of Prison said there are currently 1000 Taliban in Afghan jails that are on death row. Earlier, amid heavy criticism over its failure to stop target assassinations in Afghanistan, Saleh proposed executing the Taliban's jailed members in order to pressure the group stoping these assassinations.

Moreover, the Taliban has already been demanding the release of its remaining prisoners in Afghan jails. The Afghan government, however, made it clear that they would not release more prisoners as the group failed to honor its earlier commitment- to reduce violation upon release of 5000 prisoners prior to the start of the Intra-Afghan talks.