Intra-Afghan talks to begin Sunday

Meanwhile, a source said that President Ashraf Ghani would sign the decree to release 400 “hard-core” Taliban prisoners late on Monday.

The Taliban have said that they would sit for talks within a week once their prisoners are released.

Under the US-Taliban deal signed in February, intra-Afghan talks were expected to begin on March 10. However, dispute over release of Taliban prisoners as a precondition delayed the talks.

The Afghan government freed 4,600 out of 5,000 Taliban prisoners the group were demanding and it convened a grand assembly, known as Loya Jirga, over the fate of 400 “hard-core” Taliban prisoners, which approved their release.