Thu 29 August 2019:
The US and the Taliban are “close” to a deal that would see the Pentagon slash troop numbers in Afghanistan, the insurgents said Wednesday, although the US military insisted that the country must not become a sanctuary for extremists.
The foes have been meeting in Doha to put the final touches on a historic deal that would see the Taliban make various security guarantees in return for a sharp reduction in the 13,000 or so US troops based in Afghanistan.
“We are close to an agreement. We hope to bring good news for our Muslim and freedom seeking nation soon,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted.
In Washington, General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and America’s most senior uniformed officer, sounded a note of caution, telling reporters he was not yet using the word “withdrawal” to describe the deal.
“I’m using ‘we’re going to make sure that Afghanistan is not a sanctuary, and we’re going to try to have an effort to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan,'” he said.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper, standing next to Dunford, also said a deal with the Taliban must guarantee that Afghanistan “is no longer a safe haven for terrorists to attack the United States.”
US troops were first sent to Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on US soil carried out by Al-Qaeda, which was sheltered by the former Taliban regime.
– ‘Remaining points’ –
Most of the US negotiating was led by Afghan-born Khalilzad, a fluent Pashto and Dari speaker who has spent recent months shuttling between world capitals in a bid to build support for a deal with the Islamist hardliners known for their extreme interpretations of Sharia law.
Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen told reporters in Doha on Tuesday that a deal could be expected “as soon as the remaining points are finalised”, as negotiators wrangled over individual words and phrases in the draft.
Meanwhile Amnesty International called on the United States and the Taliban to also consider human rights.
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