US, Afghan Peace Talks: A Brief Overview

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The United States (US) and the Afghan Taliban are going to sign a historic peace agreement today, but let’s take a look at what has happened in the series of talks which started from 2018.

The first direct contact between the US and Taliban took place in July 2018, when US officials secretly met with Taliban leaders in Qatar. On September 5, 2018, Zalmay Khalilzad was inducted into the State Department as Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation to facilitate the peace process between Afghan factions to end the war.

On October 12, 2018, the US delegation led by Zalmay Khalilzad again met the Taliban in Qatar. As a result, later, in December 2018, the Taliban announced that they would meet with US officials in Qatar again.

US, Taliban Peace agreement to be signed today

On February 25, 2019, peace talks between the Taliban and the US began, with key Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar also present. After the talks, Zalmay Khalilzad announced that this phase of negotiations was more constructive than in the past and the parties agreed to draft a peace agreement.

The main point of the proposed deal was that US and international troops would leave Afghanistan while the Taliban would not allow other militant groups to operate from their land. Pakistan played an important role in these talks, but Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was kept out of the conversation.

By August 12, 2019, the US-Afghan peace talks had completed 8 rounds. After which, in September 2019, Zalmay Khalilzad announced that a peace agreement between the US and the Taliban had been drafted, which was awaiting final approval from President Trump. But, on September 8, President Trump justified the attack on Bagram Airbase in Kabul which cancelled talks with the Taliban.

US, Taliban sign a deal

The Afghan Taliban reacted strongly to the cancellation of the talks, saying that it would do more harm to the US. On November 19, 2019, the US released three key Taliban leaders in exchange for two foreign professors, paving the way for dialogue between the two sides.

Then on November 29, 2019, US President Donald Trump suddenly visited Afghanistan and prompted a reopening of talks with the Taliban, after which Zalmay Khalilzad visited Afghanistan and from there they reached Qatar.

Sohail Shaheen, a spokesperson for the Taliban’s political office in Qatar, on December 9, 2019, also reaffirmed the agreement with the US.

With Taliban deal, US shifts away from two decades of global war

On February 14, the US and Taliban agreed to a temporary ceasefire agreement in Afghanistan, with sides saying the peace deal could proceed if a temporary ceasefire was implemented.

Today, the United States and Taliban in Doha are going to sign a historic agreement to end the longest war in Afghanistan and the withdrawal of foreign troops, which will pave the way for peace and prosperity across the region, including Pakistan.

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