KABUL (AFP): The Taliban today (Sunday) asserted that they expect the US president-elect, Joe Biden to abide by the deal signed with Donald Trump’s administration that paved the way for withdrawing US forces from Afghanistan.
A spokesperson for the Taliban, Mohammad Naeem, said, “We signed the agreement with the American government, not a person. We hope that the process that has started will not be weakened, but rather strengthened.”
“The ongoing intra-Afghan talks is part of the agreement (with the US) and shall continue unaffected,” the spokesperson added.
Earlier in February, Trump’s administration signed a deal with the Taliban to fully disengage from Afghanistan in exchange for several security guarantees and a commitment to stop trans-national militants groups from operating in the country.
The US-Taliban deal agreed to withdraw all American forces from Afghanistan by May 2021. The withdrawal of troops has been a cornerstone of Trump’s plans to end America’s longest war.
Since the signing of the deal, the US military has shut several bases and pulled out thousands of troops as agreed. The deal, however, excluded the Afghan government from negotiations, and also saw almost 6,000 Taliban prisoners released.
Later, peace talks between the Taliban and Afghan government to end the war were launched in the Qatari capital Doha. The talks, which commenced on September 12, have failed to make any significant progress so far.
Meanwhile, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani asserted that ties between Kabul and Washington are expected to deepen in areas of counter-terrorism and building peace as he congratulated Biden on his election victory.
