Gov’t Rejects Taliban’s Claims Regarding the Release of 76 Afghan Forces

On August 10, the Taliban in a statement claimed that 76 Afghan security personnel were released from Taliban’s captivity in the various province of the country on the occasion of Eid.
According to the Taliban’s statement, the Afghan forces have been released in Kunduz, Uruzgan, Khost and Sar-i-Pul provinces.
However, the Interior Ministry said that its findings and information received from the provinces confirms that during the last few days the Taliban has released no Defense and Security forces who were kept in their prisons.
The Ministry added that the Taliban’s statement has been issued to spread propaganda as no captive soldiers have been released yet.
The statement further said that the Taliban have decided and willing to release Afghan soldiers they should provide a list of the released individuals.
It comes as, on Sunday, President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani ordered to free 35 Taliban inmates from the prison of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) on the occasion of Eid Ul Adha.
The NDS said in a statement that the directorate released 35 Taliban prisoners according to a presidential decree which was issued on the occasion of Eid Ul Adha.
The statement further added that the prisoners were released as a gesture of goodwill to help advance the peace process.