US, Taliban sign historic peace deal in Doha

KABUL in Doha on Saturday afternoon.

The agreement was signed in the Sheraton Hotel where both sides negotiated the Afghan conundrum for nearly one and a half years. US Chief Negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad signed the agreement on the behalf of the US while Mullah Abdul Ghani Beradar signed on the representation of the Taliban.

The agreement, coming hard on the heels of a weeklong reduction in violence period across Afghanistan, is a crowning moment in almost two years of Washington-Taliban talks.

The deal will eventually lead to the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan. The number of American forces in the country will be cut to 8,600 from the current 13,000.

The landmark accord paves the ground for the long-elusive intra-Afghan negotiations. The Taliban have so far scorned calls for talking to the government in the presence of international forces in the country.

In line with the agreement, according to the rebel group, 5,000 Taliban prisoners would be freed. The US has suggested a Kabul-Taliban meeting on the issue.

Foreign ministers and representatives from 50 countries and international organisations attended the signing ceremony.

A day earlier, President Donald Trump says he will honour a major campaign promise with the signing of a historic peace deal with the Taliban on ending the conflict in Afghanistan.

Representatives from the United States and the Taliban are all poised to sign a keenly-awaited peace agreement with the militant movement in Doha today.

On Friday, Trump called the imminent agreement a “powerful path” to ending America’s longest war, which has cost the United States billions of dollars besides leading to killing of thousands of its soldiers.

“Soon, at my direction, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will witness the signing of an agreement with representatives of the Taliban,” he said in a statement from the White House.

“When I ran for office, I promised the American people I would begin to bring our troops home, and seek to end this war. We are making substantial progress on that promise,” the president said.

Also on Saturday, the Ghani administration and the US issued a joint declaration, in which Washington reaffirmed its long-term commitment to Afghanistan.

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced the declaration at a joint news conference in Kabul.

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