Afghanistan agreed on Sunday to release 400 "hard-core" Taliban prisoners, paving the way for peace talks aimed at ending almost two decades of war.
Under election-year pressure from US President Donald Trump for a deal allowing him to bring home American troops, the war-torn country's grand assembly, or Loya Jirga, on Sunday approved the release, a controversial condition raised by the Taliban militants to join peace talks.
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"In order to remove an obstacle, allow the start of the peace process and an end of bloodshed, the Loya Jirga approves the release of 400 Taliban," the assembly said in a resolution.
Minutes later, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced, "Today, I will sign the release order of these 400 prisoners."
