Taliban prepare to meet U.S. officials to discuss prisoner release

If confirmed, the meeting would follow an earlier round of talks in Doha in July that involved Taliban officials and senior U.S. diplomat Alice Wells.
Reuters, citing two officials involved with the process, said that the Taliban leaders were meeting to discuss the makeup of the delegation for the new round of talks.
The officials said that the Taliban would like to discuss and exchange of prisoners and could hold another meeting if the U.S. showed seriousness in talks by releasing prisoners.
“This meeting will determine the future talks and we would see if the U.S. is serious and sincere in negotiation,” one of the officials was quoted as saying.
“We would hand over a list of prisoners languishing in jails across Afghanistan. If they set free our prisoners then we would meet again for another great cause.”
The three-to-four member delegation would be led by head of the group’s Qatar-based political office, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai.
The report also suggested that the Taliban leadership is planning to replace Stanikzai, who has been serving as interim head, with a new permanent one.