Afghan Taliban Political Office Spokesperson Suhail Shaheen on Saturday said that 17 soldiers and policemen of the Kabul Administration have been released from a prison of the Islamic Emirate in Ghor province.

In a tweet, Suhail Shaheen posted, “Today, 17 soldiers and policemen of the Kabul Administration were released from a prison of the Islamic Emirate in Ghor province and sent to their families after they were given the usual package of assistance.”

https://twitter.com/suhailshaheen1/status/1281847395656114177

However, Afghan authorities said Thursday they have offered the Taliban a choice to submit a new list of 592 prisoners after Kabul refused to release inmates the militants demanded to be freed ahead of peace talks.

Under the terms of a US-Taliban deal, Kabul pledged to free some 5,000 Taliban prisoners in a swap that would see the insurgents release around 1,000 Afghan security force captives. However, Afghan authorities have refused to release 592 Taliban prisoners who face serious criminal charges, officials said.

They include people charged with murder, highway robbery, stoning of women and even sodomy, as well as hundreds of foreign fighters. "They are too dangerous to be released," a government official told AFP on Wednesday.

But on Thursday, National Security Council (NSC) spokesman Javid Fasial said the Taliban can submit a new list of 592 prisoners. "We have given the Taliban the choice to submit to us another 592 names for consideration for release, or we might take matters in our own hands," Faisal wrote on Twitter. "The ball is in the Talib court."