Islamabad: Pakistan on Friday agreed to release more Taliban prisoners in a bid to facilitate peace talks between militants and the Afghan government.
The joint statement from foreign ministry came after talks in Islamabad between visiting Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul and his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar.
The number of prisoners to be released was not specified but is not thought to include the Taliban’s former deputy leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who was captured in 2010.
A senior Pakistani security official earlier told AFP that “no decision” had been taken on his release.
“Both sides have agreed the “release of more prisoners, facilitating contacts and urging the Taliban to renounce ties to al Qaeda, the statement said.
It was the second high-level delegation to visit Pakistan this month to press for the release of Taliban prisoners in a bid to kick start peace efforts.
Talks, two weeks ago between Pakistan and Afghanistan’s High Peace Council, resulted in the release of nine Taliban.
Afghan officials believe senior Taliban leaders held in Pakistan could help bring militants to the negotiating table, if released from jail, to end over a decade of war ahead of the 2014 pull-out of US-led Nato troops.
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