ISLAMABAD – International troops plan to stay in Afghanistan beyond the Maydeadline envisaged by the insurgent Taliban s deal with the United States,four senior NATO officials said, a move that could escalate tensions withthe Taliban demanding full withdrawal.
“There will be no full withdrawal by allies by April-end,” one of theofficials told Reuters.
“Conditions have not been met,” he said on condition of anonymity becauseof the sensitivity of the matter. “And with the new U.S. administration,there will be tweaks in the policy, the sense of hasty withdrawal which wasprevalent will be addressed and we could see a much more calculated exitstrategy.”
The administration of then-President Donald Trump signed an agreement withthe Taliban early last year calling for the withdrawal of all foreigntroops by May in return for the insurgents fulfilling certain securityguarantees.
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Trump hailed the accord – which did not include the Afghan government – asthe end of two decades of war. He reduced U.S. troops to 2,500 by thismonth, the fewest since 2001.