Doha, August 3
Washington is hoping for a breakthrough as talks between the US and the Taliban resumed in Doha on Saturday in a bid to end 18 years of war in Afghanistan.
The US, which invaded Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban in 2001, wants to withdraw thousands of troops and draw down its longest ever war. But it would first seek assurances from the insurgents that they would renounce Al-Qaida and stop other militants like the Islamic State group using the country as a haven.
Washington is hoping to strike a peace deal with the Taliban by September 1, ahead of Afghan polls due the same month, and US presidential polls due in 2020.
A coalition led by Washington ousted the Taliban accusing it of harbouring Al-Qaeda jihadists who claimed the September 11, 2001 attacks against the US that killed almost 3,000 people.
“We are pursuing a peace agreement not a withdrawal agreement, a peace agreement that enables withdrawal,” US envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad tweeted on Friday as he arrived in Doha after talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad.
“Our presence in Afghanistan is conditions-based, and any withdrawal will be conditions-based.” In another sign of progress, the Afghan government has formed a negotiating team for separate peace talks with the Taliban that diplomats hope could be held as early as later this month.
The Washington Post reported Thursday that an initial deal to end the war would see the US force in Afghanistan reduced to as low as 8,000 from the current level of around 14,000. In exchange, the Taliban would abide by a ceasefire, renounce Al-Qaida, and talk to the Kabul administration. — AFP
from The Tribune https://ift.tt/2KeU9VN
via Today’s News Headlines
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