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           Afghan FM Presses Pakistan to Free More Taliban Detainees

   by VOA News

   Afghanistan's foreign minister has pressed Pakistan to free more
   Taliban detainees to help coax the militant group into peace talks
   aimed at ending the fighting in Afghanistan.
   Zalmay Rasoul made the request during talks Friday with Pakistani
   Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar in Islamabad.
   The two diplomats later told reporters that progress is being made on
   promoting reconciliation with Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.
   But they refused to give details on whether they discussed the release
   of any high-ranking Taliban officials in Pakistan.  Earlier this month,
   Pakistan released 13 Afghan Taliban prisoners but not the militant
   group's former deputy leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.  He was
   captured in Pakistan in 2010.
   Afghanistan has long sought access to the prisoners to aid the stalled
   peace process.  Support from Pakistan, which backed the Taliban regime
   in the late 1990s, is seen as crucial to Afghan reconciliation efforts.
   On Friday, the Afghan and Pakistani foreign ministers also agreed to
   host a conference of Islamic scholars in Kabul early next year.  The
   conference will be aimed at gathering religious support for the
   reconciliation process in Afghanistan.
   Officials want the scholars to send a message to the Taliban that
   suicide bombings and other extremist acts in the name of religion are
   not justified.
   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/afghan-fm-presses-pakistan-to-free-mo
   re-taliban-detainees/1555938.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/afghan-fm-presses-pakistan-to-free-more-taliban-detainees/1555938.html