The Afghan government on Saturday said that there are serious reservations about the release of over 500 Taliban prisoners within the country’s legal and judicial institutions, and most likely these detainees will not be released.

“Our system (Afghanistan’s legal and judicial system) may not allow a number of the Taliban, who may not be the Taliban--or the individuals who were listed and are accused with other issues--to be released,” said Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman to President Ashraf Ghani. 
On June 6, the Afghan government revealed one of the main reasons behind the delay in the intra-Afghan negotiations, saying it is not releasing 597 prisoners of the 5,000 inmates that were to be freed as part of the confidence-building measures established in the US-Taliban agreement signed in late February.
These individuals are accused of “crimes and moral issues” and are on a list that was given to the government by the Taliban, said Ahmad Rashid Totakhil, head of the prisoners’ release affairs.
Later on July 9, The Taliban handed over a replacement list for the 592 prisoners which were originally rejected as release candidates by Afghan govt, a source said on Thursday.
But, the Presidential Palace has said that the list so far has not been shared.
The government so far released 4,019 prisoners and the Taliban has released 737 prisoners.
Meanwhile, the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that in recent days, the international community has reaffirmed their commitments to the democratic system and the peace process in Afghanistan.
“Participants at the meetings described the continued violence as unacceptable and called on the Taliban to reduce violence and get ready to engage in peace talks,” said Geran Hewad, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, referring to the recent virtual meetings on Afghan peace process.
Meanwhile, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the reconciled leader of Hizb-e-Islami, has said that the intra-Afghan talks should be held in a country which is not under the influence of the US.
 He called on the Taliban to stop violence and avoid making barriers in the way of peace.
“Peace with invaders and war with the Afghan rivals do not have Sharia (Islamic) and logical justification,” said Hekmatyar.
The Taliban has said that the group will not endorse the intra-Afghan talks unless the Afghan government releases its 5,000 prisoners from the jails.
The release of the Taliban prisoners is part of the US-Taliban deal signed in Doha in late February.
According to the Afghan government, so far, 4,019 Taliban prisoners have been released.