Kabul— The government of Afghanistan and the Taliban movement have agreedon procedural rules for peace talks to end the country’s 19 years ofconflict.
The terms, which consist of 21 articles, have been “approved” by bothparties to break weeks of stalemate, Mohammad Naeem, a spokesman for theTaliban in Doha, Qatar, where they have a political office, said onTwitter. The Afghan government hasn’t commented.
A key disagreement has been whether the U.S.-Taliban deal should serve asthe basis for the Afghan-Taliban talks, a position rejected by thegovernment. The peace deal the U.S. signed with the militants on Feb. 29requires the Taliban to cut ties with all terrorist groups, includingAl-Qaeda, in exchange for troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The U.S. has started withdrawing forces from the country and will reduceits troops to 2,500 from 4,500 by Jan. 15, with more scheduled leave byMay. The Afghan government expressed concern over what it considers apremature withdrawal that could leave the country in civil war.
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The United Nations has noted a dramatic surge in violence by the Talibansince the talks began on Sept. 12, ranging from attacks on Afghan armybases to attempts to capture key cities including Kandahar.
Other militants have launched assaults on Kabul University and othereducational centers, killing dozens of students. On Sept 21, unknownassailants fired a deadly barrage of rockets that struck residential areasin the capital. – Bloomberg
