Sat 30 January 2021:
The Taliban in Afghanistan rejected on Friday accusations by the US Pentagon that it has been violating their peace accord and continued to kill Afghan security forces and civilians.
The group’s spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahed, said in a statement that the Taliban is fully committed to all clauses of the Doha agreement with the US, and has implemented its part in the accord.
“Implementation of the Doha agreement is the only solution to the ongoing conflict. We also urge the US to fully adhere to the Doha agreement,” he said.
The Taliban has also urged US President Joe Biden to continue the ongoing peace process initiated by the former Trump administration.
U.S. officials acknowledge the insurgents have not attacked American troops since the signing of the pact, which binds the Taliban to halt attacks on foreign forces.
Earlier Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the deputy Taliban peace negotiator, made the statement during an ongoing visit to Moscow, where his delegation is meeting with top Russian officials.
Stanikzai told a news conference that the Taliban signed the pact with a “legal, elected government in America” and the new U.S. administration reviewing it “is their “internal decision.” But it does not mean Washington is abandoning the treaty.
He also rejected as “completely false” allegations that the Taliban had received bounties from Russia for killing U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
“We do not need anyone to give us reward for the killing of Americans. Americans are the invaders and we are [have been] killing them since 2001,” Stanikzai said and stressed the need for Washington to stick to the mutually agreed troop withdrawal timeline.
A day earlier, the Pentagon said the Biden administration would not commit to a full drawdown of troops from Afghanistan by May because the Taliban have not honored its commitments under the Doha agreement.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said at a news briefing that unless the Taliban fulfilled its side of the deal by renouncing terrorism and stopping violent attacks on Afghan security forces and civilians, it would be “very hard to see a specific way forward for the negotiated settlement.”
This comes amid escalating violence and targeted assassinations of pro-government figures in Afghanistan.
The country’s Independent Human Rights Commission said in a fresh report earlier this week that as many as 8,500 civilians have been killed or injured throughout 2020, among whom 2,958 were killed and 5,542 injured. According to findings by rights commission, the Taliban are responsible for 53% of all civilian casualties in Afghanistan in 2020, while the government and its international allies are responsible for 15% and ISIS 5%.
The Taliban, however, claim that Afghan forces have carried out air and ground offensives in 22 provinces, killing 35 civilians and wounding 48 others in the past two weeks.
The U.S. reduced its troop levels in Afghanistan to 2,500 this month under the then-outgoing Trump administration and in line with the agreement with the Taliban, from nearly 13,000 a year ago.
