US and Taliban negotiators have agreed on a draft framework for a peace deal seeking to put an end to the 17-year conflict in Afghanistan, Washington’s top negotiator has said. US negotiators held six days of talks with the Taliban in Qatar last week.
What was said at the talks?
A senior Taliban official who attended the talks told the BBC over the weekend that both sides had agreed to form two committees to draw up detailed plans on how to implement agreements in principle on two key issues:
- When will American-led forces be withdrawn from Afghanistan?
- A commitment from the Taliban that the group will not allow al-Qaeda to use the country as a base in the future
American authorities during the talks demanded for at least one US military base in Afghanistan once US pulls out its forces, to which Taliban envoy replied they demand a similar kinda Taliban military base in US.
The Taliban official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the committees would “identify routes for the withdrawal, and how much time is needed. We suggested six months, but are flexible”.
Progress, but where next?
It is often said that there is no military solution for the US and its allies in Afghanistan. The US approach is largely to convince the Taliban that they cannot win either.
But is this strategy succeeding? At one level the progress in the current talks would suggest it is. But the reality is that the Taliban are speaking from a position of relative strength.
Losses amongst the Afghan security forces are dramatic. The government only controls or influences territory containing some one-thirds of the population.
Nobody imagines that the Afghan military can be self-supporting any time soon.
Accurate metrics of the true security situation are hard to find. A huge amount of spin comes from US military sources. Now President Trump is signalling that he wants some, and eventually all, US troops out. But the strategy underpinning US withdrawal remains both uncertain and unclear.
What is the current situation in Afghanistan?
The Taliban’s power and reach have surged since foreign combat troops left Afghanistan in 2014.
Thousands of Nato-led troops remain in training, support and counter-terrorism roles.
The US has the largest contingent, with 14,000. US President Donald Trump is reportedly considering withdrawing half of these.
About 8,000 from another 38 countries are also present.
On Friday, Mr Ghani said more than 45,000 members of the country’s security forces had been killed since he became leader in 2014.
It is estimated that about 15 million people - half the Afghan population - are living in areas either controlled by the Taliban or where the militants are openly present and regularly mount attacks and government has no control over 70% of afgan territory.