Khalilzad says no timetable yet for troop pullout

KABUL Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said on Thursday no timetable had been agreed for a US troop withdrawal.

Ambassador Khalilzad tweeted: “In recent days, I’ve heard some individual Taliban officials claim we have a troop withdrawal timetable for Afghanistan. Today (Thursday), they retracted that claim.

“To be clear: no troop withdrawal timetable exists,” the diplomat said after the State Department reaffirmed America’s commitment to long-term cooperation with the war-torn country.

Khalilzad’s tweet represents a clear message from US on the troop pullout issue after several rounds of talks with the Taliban in recent months.

pk/mud