The Afghan government on Thursday released 80 of the 400 high-value Taliban prisoners whose release was approved by last week’s Loya Jirga, the National Security Council said on Friday.

The consultative Loya Jirga, the grand assembly of Afghan elders, last week approved the release of the 400 Taliban prisoners, a step that was seen as a key push for the start of the intra-Afghan negotiations.  

The prisoners were released from Pul-e-Charkhi prison in Kabul, according to the National Security Council.  

According to government data, out of the 400 prisoners in question, 156 of them have been sentenced to death, 105 of them are accused of murder, 34 of them are accused of kidnapping that led to murder, 51 of them are accused of drug smuggling, 44 of them are on the blacklist of the Afghan government and its allies, 6 of them are accused of assorted other crimes, 4 are accused of unspecified crimes.

https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/govt-releases-80-high-value-taliban-prisoners