The National Security Council (NSC) says that the government of Afghanistan has released 361 Taliban prisoners so far.

“Afghan government has so far released 361 Taliban prisoners from Bagram prison, says Javid Faisal, a spokesman for NSC.

Faisal added that as per President Ghani’s decree, the releases will continue across other prisons to free a total of 1,500 as part of our efforts to advance peace and fight the coronavirus.

This comes as the US Special Envoy for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad has welcomed the release of prisoners by both the Afghan government and the Taliban group.