Abdullah Abdullah: Can Afghanistan move ahead without US troops?
The High Council for National Reconciliation’s chief discusses if trust has been built after months of negotiations.

The High Council for National Reconciliation’s chief discusses if trust has been built after months of negotiations.

![The renewed push to reach a peace deal comes as the US winds down its military presence in Afghanistan [File: Mohammad Ismail/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2021-07-03T154643Z_237798511_RC23DO9XSW6V_RTRMADP_3_USA-AFGHANISTAN-BAGRAM.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
![United States Army General Austin Miller tells journalists in Kabul, Afghanistan that the country is at risk of descending into civil war [Ahmad Seir/AP Photo]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/AP21180507653091.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
![President Joe Biden meets with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at the White House. [Jonathan Ernst/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/2021-06-25_USA-AFGHANISTAN-BIDEN-GHANI.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
![Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani is contending with political rivalries at home amid a US withdrawal and Taliban advances [Filer: Omar Sobhani/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/2021-04-043_USA-AFGHANISTAN-PEACE.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
![A Filipino nurse with a mother inside the maternity ward of the government-run Dr Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital, Manila's busiest [Eloisa Lopez/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2020-09-18T080955Z_202807048_RC2W0J9UGCCH_RTRMADP_3_HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS-PHILIPPINES-MATERNITY.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
![Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, right, bumps elbows with the head of Afghanistan's peace council, Abdullah Abdullah, in Islamabad [MoFA handout via Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2020-09-28T092607Z_999757799_RC2L7J9H27MA_RTRMADP_3_AFGHANISTAN-TALIBAN-TALKS-PAKISTAN.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)


Zalmay Khalilzad leaves for Kabul and Doha after Afghan President Ghani and rival Abdullah sign power-sharing deal.
Al Jazeera spoke to some of the inmates whose names are on the list of Taliban prisoners slated to be released.
The comments come as Taliban rejects Afghan President Ghani’s phased release of prisoners.
The Afghan armed group says it will not proceed with the intra-Afghan talks unless all Taliban prisoners are released.
![Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani composite [Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/80dfc5b30c334a4d8f05fcd8fa32f18a_18.jpeg?resize=730%2C410&quality=80)
Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah were both inaugurated as president on Monday.
The parallel inaugurations by Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah pose a challenge to intra-Afghan talks, analysts say.
Both leaders hold ceremonies and form parallel governments, with Abdullah refusing to recognise Ghani’s inauguration.
The Afghan leader has thrice been contender for the presidency since democracy was introduced in 2004.
Abdullah’s spokesperson says invitation issued for Monday’s inauguration which will coincide with Ghani’s event.
Abdullah Abdullah, who serves as chief executive, issues decree a day after he contested the presidential poll results.