Afghan-Taliban Prisoner Exchange Talks Collapse... 'Peace Agreement' Inevitable

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] The prisoner exchange negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban have collapsed. With even the hard-won negotiations breaking down, the peace agreement itself has become precarious.

According to foreign media on the 8th, the Taliban suspended the prisoner exchange negotiations taking place in the Afghan capital and withdrew their delegation.

The Taliban stated in a statement the day before, "The Afghan government deliberately delaying the release of our prisoners is a violation of the peace agreement." The Afghan side also expressed that the Taliban was not serious about the negotiations.

Since the 31st of last month, both sides had been negotiating the exchange of 100 Taliban fighters for 20 Afghan government soldiers. It is known that the Taliban's demand for the release of commander-level personnel became a point of contention.

Earlier, the United States signed a peace agreement with the Taliban on February 29, agreeing to withdraw all troops within 14 months. However, with the prisoner exchange negotiations, which were a prerequisite for the talks, encountering difficulties, the entire peace agreement has become unstable. The Afghan peace agreement was a summit to end conflicts within Afghanistan, but the Afghan government was not directly involved and the talks were conducted between the United States and the Taliban.

Afghanistan is in a comprehensive crisis situation, with conflicts between the government and the Taliban as well as a confrontation between Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah over the presidential election results.