KABUL: President Ashraf Ghani on Friday inaugurated a traditional grand assembly, the Loya Jirga, to help decide whether the last 400 Taliban prisoners held by Kabul should be freed as part of a historic peace deal between the US and the militants.
The 400 inmates still in government custody have been at the center of a dispute that is delaying peace in the war-torn country.
A prisoner swap between the Taliban and Kabul was a major part of the February agreement signed by the US and the militants in Qatar.
The exchange should have taken place in early March and be immediately followed by talks to decide the future of Afghanistan’s political system, including the creation of an interim government.
“Today, we have gathered here to discuss what is our interest in the talks and the ultimate price of peace. Now is the time for making a major decision,” Ghani told the assembly of over 3,200 delegates in Kabul.
“The Taliban have committed that after the freedom of their 400 prisoners, they will begin official talks with our delegation,” he said. “But at the same time, they have also warned that if the prisoners are not freed, they will not only continue the violence, but also increase it.”
The Qatar agreement stipulated that the Afghan government would first release up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners and the militants would free about 1,000 national security personnel. Ghani’s government, which was not part of the Qatar accord, initially refused to free the militants.
However, under pressure from Washington, Kabul has freed more than 4,600 Taliban inmates. But it is refusing to free the remaining 400 who, it said, had been behind major crimes and attacks.
After Eid Al-Adha prayers last week, Ghani announced he would summon the Loya Jirga, a traditional council to reach consensus among Afghanistan’s rival tribes, factions and ethnic groups.
Delegates are expected to announce their decision in three days.
As Ghani spoke, a woman delegate stood and voiced her opposition to the release of the remaining Taliban inmates, saying that it would be “national treason.”
The meeting has been held under tight security and parts of Kabul are under lockdown.
Many of Afghanistan’s political and tribal leaders, including former President Hamid Karzai, were absent from the assembly.
Meanwhile, the Taliban accused Ghani of blocking the start of negotiations.
The US special envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, said the Kabul assembly was a historic “opportunity for peace” and “must be seized by all sides.”
Kabul assembly to decide fate of last Taliban inmates
https://arab.news/6r4r4
Kabul assembly to decide fate of last Taliban inmates
- The 400 inmates still in government custody have been at the center of a dispute that is delaying peace
- A prisoner swap between the Taliban and Kabul was a major part of the February agreement signed by the US and the militants in Qatar
US not expanding military objectives in Iran, Hegseth says
- Iran’s regional retaliation strengthen US alliances, Hegseth says
- US forces destroy 30 Iranian warships, including drone carrier
TAMPA, Florida: US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday the United States was not expanding its military objectives in Iran, after President Donald Trump told Reuters the United States must be involved in choosing the next leader of Iran.
The Pentagon earlier this week said the military campaign, known as Operation Epic Fury, is focused on destroying Iran’s offensive missiles, missile production and navy, while not allowing Tehran to have a nuclear weapon.
“There’s no expansion in our objectives. We know exactly what we’re trying to achieve,” Hegseth said.
He added that Trump was “having a heck of a say in who runs Iran given the ongoing operation.”
In a telephone interview with Reuters on Thursday, Trump said the United States would have to help pick the next person to lead the country. The US and Israeli military campaign that started on Saturday has hit targets across the country and triggered Iranian retaliatory strikes in the region as Tehran seeks to impose a high cost on the United States, Israel and their allies.
Iran has attacked countries including Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Fire crews in Bahrain extinguished a blaze at a refinery following a missile strike.
Azerbaijan became the latest country drawn in, as it accused Iran of firing drones at its territory and ordered its southern airspace closed for 12 hours.
Hegseth said by striking countries in the region, Iran would only bring them closer to the United States.
“It’s actually firming up the unity of the resistance in order to focus exactly where we need to,” Hegseth said.
Next phase of operations
The United States has hit more than 2,000 targets in Iran, including Iranian warships. Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of US Central Command, said US forces had destroyed 30 Iranian warships, including an Iranian drone carrier ship earlier on Thursday.
Cooper said the United States was hitting Iran’s ability to rebuild.
“As we transition to the next phase of this operation, we will systematically dismantle Iran’s missile production capability for the future, and that’s absolutely in progress,” Cooper said, adding that it would take some time.
The US military has identified the six US Army Reserve soldiers killed when a drone slammed into a US military facility in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait.
Trump and other senior officials have warned the Iran conflict will result in more US military deaths.
Hegseth, during the press conference, said Iran was making a mistake if it believed that the United States could not sustain the ongoing war, adding that Washington had just begun to fight.
“Iran is hoping that we cannot sustain this, which is a really bad miscalculation,” Hegseth said. “We set the timeline.”
