DOHA: Taliban and the United States have signed an agreement on Saturday for the withdrawal of US and NATO troops from Afghanistan.
“The United States and Taliban have endured decades of hostility and mistrust,” said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo while speaking to the media during the signing ceremony in Qatar’s Doha.
“This effort only became real for the United States when the Taliban signaled in ensuring peace and ending relations with alQaeda and other foreign terrorist group. They also realised that military victory was impossible,” he remarked.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the US special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, was sent to gauge the Taliban’s sincerity, said Pompeo. “The agreement that we will sign today is the true test of this effort. We will closely watch the Taliban’s compliance with their commitments and calibrate the pace of our withdrawal to their actions.”
He added, “This how we will make sure that Afghanistan never again serves as a base for international terrorists.”
The negotiation process in Doha with all of its twists and turns has shown that is possible for us to take this step together. The Taliban demonstrated that when they have the will to be peaceful they can be, Pompeo said.
He remarked that Afghan people are rejoicing. They can meet their family members and trade now. People are dancing in the streets with joy.
Pompeo, however, said that the agreement will require “serious work and sacrifice” by all sides including the US coalition, Taliban, Afghan government and the Afghan people.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, one of the founders of Afghan Taliban, said that the successful negotiations will prove to be good for the international community too.
“As a political force, we want Afghanistan to maintain positive relations with all its neighbours,” he remarked, adding that the nation has been suffering from the past four decades.
He said that they hope after the withdrawal of the US troops, all factions of Afghanistan come together to establish a strong Islamic system and embark on a “new prosperous” journey.
President Donald Trump has urged the Afghan people to embrace the chance for a new future, saying the deal held out the possibility of ending the 18-year conflict.
“If the Taliban and the government of Afghanistan live up to these commitments, we will have a powerful path forward to end the war in Afghanistan and bring our troops home,” he said on the eve of the event in Doha.
The agreement will lead to a dialogue between the Kabul government and the Taliban that, if successful, could ultimately see the Afghan war wind downm the Samaa TV reported.
But the position of the Afghan government, which has been excluded from direct US-Taliban talks, remains unclear and the country is gripped by a fresh political crisis amid contested election results.
The United States and its allies will withdraw all their forces from Afghanistan within 14 months if the Taliban abide by the Doha agreement, Washington and Kabul said in a joint statement.
After an initial reduction of troops to 8,600 within 135 days of Saturday’s signing, the US and its partners “will complete the withdrawal of their remaining forces from Afghanistan within 14 months… and will withdraw all their forces from remaining bases”, the declaration stated.
The Doha accord was drafted over a tempestuous year of dialogue marked by the abrupt cancellation of the effort by Trump in September.
The signing comes after a week-long, partial truce that has mostly held across Afghanistan, aimed at building confidence between the warring parties and showing the Taliban can control their forces.
Read more: US Envoy Khalilzad, FM Qureshi discuss US-Taliban peace agreement
