The Afghan government has asked the Taliban to provide a new list for the prisoners who have not been released so far, but the Taliban has insisted on the release of their prisoners based on an existing list, sources close to the group said Sunday.

The Afghan government has so far released 4,080 Taliban prisoners and is currently refusing to free 597 detainees of the group, which is postponing the much-awaited intra-Afghan negotiations.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid in a tweet responded to criticism over the increase in violence, stressing that first the release of 5,000 prisoners should be completed and then the intra-Afghan negotiations should start.

Otherwise, he said, calls for stopping the violence are “illogical” and the group has not found another option to stop the war.

In this episode host Nemat Rawan discusses the topic with the following guests:

Sayed Akbar Agha, former Taliban commander

Shafiq Hamdard, international affairs analyst

Khatera Ishaqzai, political analyst

Tahir Khan, journalist in Pakistan