In this handout photograph taken on Aug 13, 2020 and released by Afghanistan's National Security Council (NSC), Taliban prisoners walk as they are in the process of being released from Pul-e-Charkhi prison on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan. (PHOTO / AFGHANISTAN'S NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL / AFP)

SYDNEY / ISLAMABAD - Australia opposes the release of an Afghan soldier, jailed for killing three of its military personnel in 2012, as part of a prisoner transfer deal to help usher in peace talks in the war-torn country, Foreign Minister Marise Payne said on Friday.

Hekmatullah should serve a full custodial sentence for the crimes for which he was convicted by an Afghan court, and he should not be released as part of a prisoner amnesty. 

Marise Payne, Australian foreign minister

Six prisoners sought by the Taliban left Kabul on a flight to Doha on Thursday evening, two government sources told Reuters, with the Taliban confirming it would attend long-awaited peace talks.

Payne said one of the six was Hekmatullah, a former Afghan army sergeant who killed three Australian soldiers in 2012. She said Canberra did not support the prisoner transfer.

“Hekmatullah should serve a full custodial sentence for the crimes for which he was convicted by an Afghan court, and he should not be released as part of a prisoner amnesty,” Payne said in an emailed statement.

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The Afghan government, the Taliban, the United States and Qatar announced on Thursday night that the talks between the Taliban and a team of the Afghan government will start on Saturday.

The United States and Pakistan have welcomed the long-awaited peace talks.

“It’s taken us longer than I wish that it had to get from February 29 to here but we expect Saturday morning...to have the Afghans sitting at the table together prepared to have what will be contentious discussions about how to move their country forward,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters on his way to the opening event in Doha on Thursday evening. “(It’s) truly historic.”

"Pakistan welcomes the announcement of the start of historic Intra Afghan Negotiations on 12 September in Doha," Pakistan's Special Representative for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq said Friday.

"We hope these negotiations would lead to sustainable peace in Afghanistan, which would bring prosperity to the country. Our strong support to the process would continue," Sadiq said in a tweet.

The United States and other international players have been urging the insurgent Taliban and the Afghan government to the negotiating table to bring an end to 19 years of war.

A key pillar for the end of hostilities is the demand by the insurgent group that up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners and 1,000 government prisoners would be released before talks.

READ MORE: Sources: Afghan negotiators wait in Kabul as peace talks faces delays

Some Western governments including Australia and France have objected to the release of the prisoners.