Doha – The United States signed a landmark deal with the Taliban onSaturday, laying out a timetable for a full troop withdrawal fromAfghanistan within 14 months as it seeks an exit from its longest war.
The agreement is expected to lead to a dialogue between the Taliban and theKabul government that, if successful, could ultimately see an end to thegrinding 18-year conflict.
Taliban fighter-turned-dealmaker Mullah Baradar signed the accord alongsideWashington’s chief negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad, in a conference room in aluxury hotel in the Qatari capital.
The pair then shook hands, as people in the room shouted “Allahu Akbar”(God is greatest).
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo looked on as the two inked the deal, andalluded to the difficult work that remains to be done.
“I know there will be a temptation to declare victory, but victory forAfghans will only be achieved when they can live in peace and prosper,” hesaid.
The Taliban swept to power in 1996 with a hardline interpretation ofIslamic sharia law, banning women from working, closing girls’ schools, andforbidding music and other entertainment.
Since the US-led invasion that ousted them after the September 11, 2001attacks, America has spent more than $1 trillion on fighting and rebuildingin the country.
About 2,400 US soldiers have been killed, along with unknown tens ofthousands of Afghan troops, Taliban fighters and Afghan civilians.
“We’re seizing the best opportunity for peace in a generation,” Pompeo tolda press conference.
– ‘Powerful path’ –
President Donald Trump, who has promised to finish America’s “endlesswars”, urged the Afghan people to embrace the chance for a new future.
“If the Taliban and the government of Afghanistan live up to thesecommitments, we will have a powerful path forward to end the war inAfghanistan and bring our troops home,” he said on the eve of the signing.
The Taliban’s chief negotiator Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai hailed another”day of victory” in Afghanistan’s long history of repelling foreign powers.
“This is the kind of day that our ancestors celebrated after they defeatedthe British and the Soviets,” he said as he and other jubilant Talibanmembers took part in a march in Qatar, in a video shared by Taliban sources.
The Doha accord was drafted over a tempestuous year of dialogue marked bythe abrupt cancellation of the effort by Trump in September.
But the position of the Afghan government, which has been excluded fromdirect US-Taliban talks, remains unclear and the country is gripped by afresh political crisis amid contested election results.
The signing comes after a week-long, partial truce that has mostly heldacross Afghanistan, aimed at building confidence between the warringparties and showing the Taliban can control their forces.
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The US, which currently has between 12,000 and 13,000 troops inAfghanistan, will draw that number down to 8,600 within months of theagreement being signed.
If the Taliban abide by the terms of the accord, the US and its partners”will complete withdrawal of all remaining forces from Afghanistan” within14 months.
The two sides also agreed to swap thousands of prisoners in a “confidencebuilding measure”.
And the unprecedented direct negotiations between the Taliban andAfghanistan’s government will begin by March 10, likely in Oslo, senior USofficials said.
– ‘Happy and celebrating’ –
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg heralded the agreement as a “firststep to lasting peace”.
“The way to peace is long and hard. We have to be prepared for setbacks,spoilers, there is no easy way to peace but this is an important firststep,” the Norwegian former prime minister told reporters in Kabul.
The insurgents said they had halted all hostilities Saturday in honour ofthe agreement.
“Since the deal is being signed today, and our people are happy andcelebrating it, we have halted all our military operations across thecountry,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP.
Any insurgent pledge to guarantee Afghanistan is never again used byjihadist movements such as Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group to plotattacks abroad will be key to the deal’s viability.
The Taliban’s sheltering of Al-Qaeda was the main reason for the USinvasion following the 9/11 attacks.
The group, which had risen to power in the 1990s in the chaos of civil war,suffered a swift defeat at the hands of the US and its allies. Theyretreated before re-emerging to lead a deadly insurgency against the newgovernment in Kabul.
After the NATO combat mission ended in December 2014, the bulk of Westernforces withdrew from the country, leaving it in an increasingly precariousposition.
While Afghans are eager to see an end to the violence, experts say anyprospective peace will depend on the outcome of the intra-Afghan talks.
But with President Ashraf Ghani and rival Abdullah Abdullah at loggerheadsover contested election results, few expect the pair to present a unitedfront, unlike the Taliban, who would then be in a position to take theupper hand in negotiations. -APP/AFP
