*ISLAMABAD: *
Pakistan link is not surprised by announcementof the new US administration that it would review the peace deal with theAfghan Taliban but officials say Washington has a little room to manoeuvre.
The newly-appointed US national security adviser and secretary of statehave announced that the President Joe Biden administration would review thelandmark deal signed between the US and Taliban on February 29 last year.
The deal facilitated and brokered by Pakistan envisages a road map for theUS troops’ withdrawal in return for Taliban agreeing not to let Afghan soilto be used again by terrorist groups.
Under the deal, US would withdraw all their troops by May this year.
But the White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan now told hisAfghan counterpart in a telephone call last Friday that the newadministration intends to revisit the accord with the Talibanlink.
According to the White House Statement, the NSA “made clear the UnitedStates’ intention to review the February 2020 US-Taliban agreement,including an assessment of whether the Taliban was living up to itscommitments to cut ties with terrorist groups, to reduce violence inAfghanistan, and to engage in meaningful negotiations with the Afghangovernment and other stakeholders.”
The new US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also said the same earlierthis week.
“We have to look carefully at what has actually been negotiated. I haven’tbeen privy to it yet,” Blinken told a Senate confirmation hearing.
“We want to end this so-called forever war. We want to bring our forceshome. We want to retain some capacity to deal with any resurgence ofterrorism, which is what brought us there in the first place,” he added.
Pakistan, which has played a key role in facilitating the US-Taliban dealand intra-Afghan dialogue, is waiting for clarity from the US on itsintention to review the peace deal.
“We knew the Biden administration would review the peace deal but there isno clarity yet what does that review mean,” said a senior official, who isdealing with the matter.
Officials feel the US is giving mixed signals. On one hand Bidenadministration intends to review the deal but at the same time retainsAmbassador Zalmay Khalilzad, the architect of the February 29 deal.
Khalilzad, according to officials, will stay as chief US negotiator atleast until May, the month during which US has to withdraw all troops fromAfghanistan under the deal with Taliban.
Retaining Khalilzad means that the new US administration may not seek anydrastic changes in the peace deal.
Officials said a lot of progress had been made in the peace efforts andgiven the current situation the new US administration may not have enoughroom to make changes to the agreement.
“Let’s see if the review may just be a cosmetic,” remarked another official.
Afghan Taliban have not yet officially responded to the Bidenadministration’s intention to revisit deal with the insurgent group.
Pakistan link believes that all sides have arare and historic opportunity to put an end to the long running unrest inAfghanistan.
There has been no formal contact yet between the Biden administration andPakistan, although both sides are in touch through informal channels.
It is believed that Pakistan would suggest the new US government to stickto the current peace.
By: Kamran Yousaf
Source:link