Afghanistan convenes grand assembly of elders on Friday to decide fate of Taliban prisoners

The government of Afghanistan will convene a grand assembly of elders, known as a loya jirga, in Kabul on Friday. The centuries-old institution will decide the fate of hundreds of prisoners the Taliban insists should be released before entering peace talks with the government.

A pact reached by US and Taliban negotiators in Doha in February had agreed that 5,000 Taliban prisoners should be released from Afghan jails as a precondition for the militant movement holding talks with the government. President Ashraf Ghani’s government has released all but 400, saying their crimes were too grave.

On Sunday, it declared that a loya jirga, a traditional consultative gathering of elders, community leaders and politicians was needed to debate what to do with the remaining prisoners. On Tuesday, the government fixed the date.