KABUL - Afghanistan's national television station, RTA, on Sunday in a tweet announced that a Loya Jirga will convene on August 7, 2020, and could last between 3-5 days.
On Saturday, after Eid prayer, President Ashraf Ghani called for a Loya Jirga so that Afghans could decide on the fate of 400 disputed Taliban prisoners on a Taliban list.
These prisoners are on a list given by the Taliban to the government as part of the US-Taliban agreement, which called for the release of 1,000 government soldiers by the Taliban and 5,000 Taliban to be released by the government.
Earlier, the Presidential Palace said the government has no authority under the Constitution to release the 400 Taliban prisoners, who allegedly are guilty of serious crimes, and will seek advice from members of the Loya Jirga.
Reacting to President Ashrah Ghani's decision to convene a jirga to discuss the release of the 400 Taliban prisoners, the Taliban said that any delay in the release of the prisoners will mean a continuation of the war.
Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Taliban office in Qatar, told TOLOnews that the Afghan government's decision is detrimental to the Afghan people, that the response to the peace process should be honest, and that the decision will complicate the peace process. (TOLO NEWS)