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Pompeo: US has reached 'understanding' with Taliban over violence in Afghanistan US and Taliban to sign deal paving way for troop pullout and peace talks
(about 1 hour later)
A seven-day ‘reduction of violence’ deal promised by the Taliban will begin on Friday night, leading to signing of a peace agreement A seven-day ‘reduction of violence’ deal will begin on Friday night, Mike Pompeo said, leading to signing of a peace agreement
The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, said on Friday that the US had “come to an understanding with the Taliban” over violence reduction in Afghanistan as officials said an agreement would be signed at the end of the month. The US and Taliban are due to sign an agreement on 29 February that will lead to the withdrawal of thousands of US troops and the start of comprehensive peace talks between the Afghan government and the insurgents.
A seven-day “reduction of violence” deal promised by the Taliban will begin on Friday night, a senior US state department official said, without specifying the exact time. The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, announced that the agreement would be signed once there has been a week-long “nationwide reduction in violence”, to start at midnight on Friday, according to an understanding reached by US and Taliban negotiators meeting in Doha.
That will start the countdown to the signing of a peace agreement between the Taliban and the US at the end of the month, to be signed in Doha, Qatar, on 29 February that will pave the way for a withdrawal of US troops and intra- Afghan negotiations. “Upon a successful implementation of this understanding, signing of the US-Taliban agreement is expected to move forward. We are preparing for the signing to take place on 29 February,” Pompeo said.
Pompeo said the peace agreement will also lead to an eventual permanent cease-fire. “Intra-Afghan negotiations will start soon thereafter, and will build on this fundamental step to deliver a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire and the future political roadmap for Afghanistan.”
“We are preparing for the signing to take place on February 29,” Pompeo said in a statement. “Intra-Afghan negotiations will start soon thereafter, and will build on this fundamental step to deliver a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire and the future political road map for Afghanistan.” Ahmad Shuja Jamal, director general for international affairs in Afghan’s national security council, said in a tweet: “This is an important opportunity for the Taliban to demonstrate their seriousness for peace and ending the suffering of the Afghan people.”
The state department official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the deal. The Taliban issued their own statement on the deal, saying both sides would make arrangements for the release of prisoners, and “finally lay the groundwork for peace across the country with the withdrawal of all foreign forces”.
However, the road ahead is fraught with difficulties. In a commentary published by the New York Times, the Taliban’s deputy leader, Sirajuddin Haqqani, suggested that his movement was prepared to make compromises at the negotiating table with Afghan government representatives, including on women’s rights.
It’s still not clear who will represent Kabul at the negotiation table for the intra-Afghan talks, considered a key pillar in finding a lasting peace in the war-torn country. “I am confident that, liberated from foreign domination and interference, we together will find a way to build an Islamic system in which all Afghans have equal rights, where the rights of women that are granted by Islam – from the right to education to the right to work – are protected, and where merit is the basis for equal opportunity,” he wrote.
The Afghan election commission earlier this week declared the president, Ashraf Ghani, the winner of the presidential elections held in September but his rivals quickly denounced his win. There are many unanswered questions, however, about how peace talks would proceed and who would attend them. The Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, was declared the winner of last year’s elections by the country’s election commission but the declaration was not accepted by his main political rival, Abdullah Abdullah.
The Taliban have refused to talk to Ghani’s government and also denounced the election results, saying they will talk to government representatives but only as ordinary Afghans. The Taliban does not recognise Ghani’s government and has said it will only talk to government officials if they attend talks as ordinary citizens. Observers have pointed out that a week-long reduction in violence is a small concession in winter, in the wake of snowfall and before a spring offensive is expected to begin.
Pompeo’s statement did not say who would participate in the intra-Afghan negotiations from Kabul, saying only that “intra-Afghan negotiations will start soon after the signing in Doha and will build on this fundamental step to deliver a comprehensive and permanent cease-fire and the future political road map for Afghanistan”. Under the planned leap day agreement, the US is expected to reduced its military presence from 12,000 to 8,600, leaving behind a force to conduct counter-terrorism operations. Officially, the Taliban has demanded the complete withdrawal of foreign troops, but has reportedly accepted a residual counter-terrorism force in a secret annexe to the deal.
The Taliban issued their own statement on the reduction of violence deal. It is not clear whether the US will send troops back into Afghanistan if the intra-Afghan talks fail to get off the ground and the Taliban press ahead with their offensive.
Both sides would make arrangements for the release of prisoners, The Taliban said, and “finally lay the groundwork for peace across the country with the withdrawal of all foreign forces”. There has been speculation in the region that Donald Trump himself might sign the deal with the Taliban, sealing a foreign policy victory as he steps up his re-election campaign. He will be in India on a state visit next week. In September the president announced that Taliban leaders had been due to travel to Camp David to sign an agreement, but he called off the trip because of a Taliban attack in Kabul.
The Taliban added that they will not allow “the land of Afghanistan to be used against security of others so that our people can live a peaceful and prosperous life under the shade of an Islamic system”.