The US and the Taliban have signed a landmark peace agreement after nearly 20 years of war that could result in American troops leaving Afghanistan within 14 months.
The deal also paves the way for talks between Afghans to end one of the longest-running conflicts in the world. At a signing ceremony in Doha on Saturday, the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, and the Taliban deputy leader, Mullah Baradar, took turns to address a crowd of senior dignitaries. Although the deal was signed by the US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, the ceremony was the first time a US cabinet member had met members of the insurgency.
Troop levels will be cut to 8,600 over the next 135 days and five bases will be closed. If both sides keep to their commitments, all American military forces could have left Afghanistan by spring 2021, although Washington is thought to want to keep intelligence operatives on the ground fighting Isis and al-Qaida. The long-term enemies sealed the pact in front of a sign declaring “Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan”, after a week of “violence reduction” on the ground. The near-ceasefire was meant to demonstrate the militants’ ability to control their foot soldiers, but also gave the country a rare taste of something like peace.
Pakistan played a key role in the development of peace process between the US and Taliban. It was Pakistan's stance that no military solution was there, the issue should be resolved through dialogue.
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