On Sunday, the Taliban released a statement accusing the Afghan government of violating the “peace agreement” between the US and the insurgents, even though the Taliban have killed scores of security forces since the deal was signed.
The Taliban will no longer participate in “fruitless” discussions with the Afghan government over a prisoner swap that had formed a key part of a deal with the US, the insurgents said.
The two foes have been holding talks in Kabul since last week to try to finalise the prisoner swap that was originally supposed to have happened by March 10.
Nevertheless, the Taliban broke off talks with the Afghan government on Tuesday on a prisoner exchange, a main step in peace talks being brokered by the United States after it agreed on a troop withdrawal pact with the militants.
Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Islamist insurgent group’s political office in Qatar, said on Twitter a technical team would not participate in “fruitless meetings” and the release of their prisoners was being “delayed under one pretext or another”.
The late February pact between the United States and the Taliban, under which U.S.-led international forces will withdraw in exchange for Taliban security guarantees, is the best chance yet of ending the 18-year war.
But peace hinges on talks between the U.S.-backed Afghan government and the militants. A prisoner exchange is meant to build confidence on both sides for those talks.
A spokesman for the government said it would maintain its work on the prisoner release plan.
