Kandahar police chief Tadin Khan says prisoners released by the Taliban group are civilians.

The Taliban will release 20 Afghan government prisoners it was holding, a spokesman of the Islamist militant group said on Sunday, the first handover since the beginning of a peace process.

A day after releasing 100 Taliban prisoners, the Afghan government on Thursday said it would free another 100 – even though the insurgents have walked out of talks over a wider prisoner swap and described the piecemeal release of captives as “unacceptable,” according to reports.

Afghan government said it will release another 100 Taliban prisoners today (Thursday) under President Ashraf Ghani's decree issued on March 11.

Five rockets hit a U.S. air base in Afghanistan on Thursday, but there were no casualties, two senior security officials said, and no group immediately claimed responsibility.

The release of Taliban prisoners that was expected to begin on Tuesday has been postponed, a government official confirmed, saying that first a Taliban team will be sent to Kabul to discuss technical matters regarding the process.

A 15-member negotiating envoy led by Nooruddin Turabi, head of prisoner’s commission of the Taliban, has been set to visit Kabul tomorrow.

​​​​​​​President Ashraf Ghani has met with US peace envoy for Afghanistan reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad, tweeted Presidential Palace spokesman Sediq Sediqqi.

The Taliban rejected the Afghan government's attempt to resolve a spiraling crisis over the release of insurgent prisoners Wednesday, as Kabul warned it was ready to resume offensive battlefield operations.

The conditional prisoner release order announced by the Afghan government is against the US-Taliban agreement signed in Doha last month, the Taliban says.

Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani signed a decree to facilitate the release of some Taliban prisoners in Afghan jails, a spokesman for his office said on Wednesday.

Islamabad urges Kabul to move ahead with exchange of prisoners as agreed in peace deal

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said that releasing up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners cannot be considered a pre-condition of peace talks. His statement comes a day after the Taliban signed a peace deal with the US.

Second Vice President Sarwar Danish, on Friday said that Afghan government is ready to release the Taliban prisoners, provided that the group stops violence and starts direct peace talks with the government.

On the second day of a traditional Afghan assembly this week, a delegate rose to speak on the topic at hand, peace in Afghanistan.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Friday announced to release 175 Taliban prisoners as a goodwill gesture following a grand consultative session in the capital Kabul for peace.