In a visible attempt to jump-start talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, Pakistan’s powerful army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited Afghanistan amid the coronavirus pandemic that is taking a mounting toll on the neighboring countries.
A new Taliban breakaway group with links to Iran has emerged that is opposed to the U.S.-Taliban peace deal aimed at ending the 18-year war in Afghanistan.
Taliban officials have denied a report that its leader, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, died after contracting the coronavirus.
The Taliban still maintains close ties with the Al-Qaeda terrorist network, despite signing a peace deal with the United States in which they committed to fight militant groups, a new United Nations report said.
The Afghan government and the Taliban have released more captives as part of a major prisoner swap ahead of formal peace talks aimed at ending the 18-year war.
Some 900 Taliban members were freed from Afghanistan's largest prison outside Kabul as part of a prisoner swap under a cease-fire deal. Former detainees were given new clothes outside Pul-e Charkhi prison on May 26, as well as cash and transport home.
The Afghan government's mass release of Taliban prisoners has revived a flagging peace process. But experts warn it's a gamble that could backfire.
Since early April, Afghanistan has freed some 1,100 Taliban detainees as part of a prisoner-swap deal. The exchange is a precursor to peace talks between the Taliban and an Afghan government delegation aimed at ending the two-decade-old war.
Even though calls for the Taliban to prolong a cease-fire with the Afghan government have gone unanswered so far, there have been no signs of renewed fighting and the militants say they will release more prisoners.
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