KABUL (AFP) - Afghan President Ashraf Ghani vowed on Sunday (May 24) to speed up the release of Taleban prisoners after welcoming a surprise offer by the insurgents of a three-day ceasefire during the Eid holiday.

"As a responsible government we take one more step forward - I announce that I will expedite the Taleban prisoner releases," Mr Ghani said in an address to the nation marking Eid al-Fitr.

He also urged the militants to press on with the release of the Afghan security personnel they hold.

A US-Taleban deal signed in February stipulated that the Afghan government would release up to 5,000 Taleban prisoners, while the insurgents would free about 1,000 Afghan security force personnel.

The prisoner swap is seen as a confidence-building move ahead of long-awaited peace talks between the government and Taleban.

Kabul has so far released about 1,000 Taleban inmates while the insurgents have freed about 300 Afghan security force personnel.

The Eid al-Fitr holiday marks the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan.

Since the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, there has only been one other pause in the fighting - a three-day ceasefire between the Taleban and Kabul, also marking the end of Eid in 2018.

That ceasefire was initiated by Mr Ghani.