The head of the Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG), Matin Bek, who is also a member of the negotiation team, said the reason for the delay in the release of Taliban prisoners is that the Taliban are demanding the release of their 15 senior commanders who are involved in “big attacks.”

The release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners is part of deal signed by the US and the Taliban in Doha on Feb. 29.

Pressure by the United States continues because of the unsolved political “impasse” in Afghanistan between President Ashraf Ghani and Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, which deepened after the announcement of the Afghan election results in February.

“As the world gets slammed by COVID-19, with devastating economic consequences for all, donors are frustrated and fed up by personal agendas being advanced ahead of the welfare of the Afghan people,” US State Department’s Alice G. Wells tweeted on Monday, referring to the unsolved political tension in Afghanistan.