269 more Hezb-i-Islami prisoners to be set free

KABUL (HIA), President Ashraf Ghani’s office said on Wednesday.

Releasing HIA prisoners was part of a landmark peace deal between the government and the HIA signed in September.

The decision came at a National Security Council (NSC) meeting chaired by Ghani late on Tuesday, a statement from the Presidential Palace said.

The participants denounced the June 4 suicide attack on religious scholars as a barbaric and inhuman act. They extended deep sympathies to families of the victims.

During the meeting, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the NSC and Independent Human Rights Commission (IHRC) was also approved.

Articles of the agreement, aimed to oversee the Parwan jail, are:

Evaluation by IHRC of prisoners’ treatment at the Parwan jail;

Evolving a coordination mechanism among IHRC, NSC and the Ministry of Defence on the oversight commission’s visits to the prison;

Suggestions from IHRC for improving the prison situation;

Preparation of education plans by IHRC to improve the capacity of prison staff.

They also took a decision on the release of 269 inmates of HIA.

sa/mud

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