US-Afghan Peace Deal Signed: a turning point in the 19-year war

Doha, Qatar: The historic peace agreement was signed to end the 19-year-long war between the United States (US) and Afghan Taliban.

The agreement was signed by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation of the US State Department, Zalmay Khalilzad, at the ceremony in Doha, Qatar’s capital.

Under the Doha agreement, the withdrawal of US and NATO forces from Afghanistan will take place over the next 14 months, in response to which the Taliban have to guarantee that the Afghanistan land will not be used by the terrorist organizations, including Al-Qaeda.

US, Afghan Peace Talks: A Brief Overview

According to a joint statement issued by the US and Afghan government, US forces will withdraw from Afghanistan in 14 months, and the plan will be subject to a peaceful agreement by the Taliban. Following this peace agreement between the US and Afghan Taliban, negotiations between the Afghan government and Taliban are underway, known as inter-Afghan talks.

It may be recalled that a few weeks after the 9/11 attacks, the US invaded Afghanistan in September 2001. So far, more than 24,000 US troops have been killed in this war.