*KABUL – Taliban and the United States next round of talks is tentativelyset for Feb. 25.*

*Earlier a draft pact was reached to potentially end the war inAfghanistan, Reuters reported, citing a Qatari foreign ministry official.*

“Both parties agreed tentatively to reconvene on February 25th,” theofficial told Reuters.

The draft deal, agreed after six days of talks last week, stipulates thatU.S. troops would leave within 18 months of the agreement being signed,potentially ending the war more than 17 years after American-led forcesinvaded Afghanistan.

According to Taliban sources, the hardline Islamic group gave assurancesthat Afghanistan will not be allowed to be used by al-Qaeda and IslamicState militants to attack the United States and its allies – a key earlydemand of Washington.