SYDNEY (AUSTRALIA) – Australia has objected to the release of an Afghan soldier, jailed for killing three of its military personnel, as part of a prisoner release pact to usher in peace talks with the Taliban, said Foreign Minister Marise Payne on Friday.
As demanded by the Taliban, six prisoners were released from an Afghan jail and they left for Doha on Thursday evening and the militant outfit said it would attend the peace talks in the Gulf country.
The minister said one of the six prisoners was Hekmatullah, a former Afghan army sergeant who was responsible for killing three Australian soldiers in 2012.
“Hekmatullah should serve a full custodial sentence for the crimes for which he was convicted by an Afghan court, and he should not be released as part of a prisoner amnesty,” she said in a statement.
The Taliban and the Afghan government are under pressure from the US and other international powers to come to the negotiating table to seek an end to the 19-year civil war.
One of the main demands of the Taliban to end the hostilities is the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners and 1,000 government prisoners.
France has also opposed the prisoner exchange.