The Afghan government will soon start the release of the 400 Taliban prisoners based on the request of the Loya Jirga, the Office of National Security Council (ONSC) said on Wednesday.

This comes after President Ashraf Ghani on Monday evening signed a decree to release 400 high-value Taliban prisoners.

The Office of National Security Council says that the Afghan government is awaiting the release of the members of the Afghan security forces whose names have been shared with the Taliban.

Meanwhile, the Taliban have warned that Daesh militants are waiting to attack these prisoners once they are freed from the Pul-e-Charkhi jail.

“We have not found any foreign nationals among these prisoners, however, there are some doubts that someone could be holding the Pakistani passport or passport of another place,” said Intezar Khadim, director-general of civilian protection at the NSC, on Wednesday.

“They (the Taliban) released 1,000 prisoners, but all of those listed are not among these prisoners. The government had provided the list of 1,000 prisoners and the Taliban listed 5,000 to us, some of those on our list have not been released, they must be released,” added Khadim.

The Afghan government has not shared the identity of the 400 prisoners. The move has also sparked strong reactions among Afghans.

“The government has kept the case and identity of the 400 prisoners in secret,” said Khalid Pashtun, a member of parliament.

“It is time now for all Afghans to join hands and united,” said Amir Khan Mutaqi, a member of the Taliban’s political office in Doha.

According to government data, out of the 400 prisoners in question, 156 of them have been sentenced to death, 105 of them are accused of murder, 34 of them are accused of kidnapping that led to murder, 51 of them are accused of drug smuggling, 44 of them are on the blacklist of the Afghan government and its allies, 6 of them are accused of other crimes, 4 are accused of unspecified crimes.