DOHA: Washington is hoping for a
breakthrough as talks between the US and the
Taliban resumed in Doha on Saturday in a bid to end 18 years of war in Afghanistan.The US, which invaded Afghanistan and toppled the
Taliban in 2001, wants to withdraw thousands of troops but only in return for the insurgent group renouncing Al-Qaeda and curbing attacks.Washington is hoping to strike a
peace deal
with the
Taliban by September 1 — ahead of Afghan polls due the same month, and US presidential polls due in 2020.US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday that “we’ve made a lot of progress. We’re talking”.A coalition led by Washington ousted the
Taliban accusing it of harbouring Al-Qaeda jihadists who claimed the September 11, 2001 attacks against the US that killed almost 3,000 people.“We are pursuing a
peace agreement not a withdrawal agreement, a
peace agreement that enables withdrawal,” US envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad tweeted on Friday as he arrived in Doha after talks
with Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad.“Our presence in Afghanistan is conditions-based, and any withdrawal will be conditions-based.” In another sign of progress, the Afghan government has formed a negotiating team for separate
peace talks
with the Taliban, that diplomats hope could be held as early as later this month.The Washington Post reported Thursday that an initial deal to end the war would see the US force in Afghanistan reduced to as low as 8,000 from the current level of around 14,000.In exchange, the
Taliban would abide by a ceasefire and renounce Al-Qaeda, the Post reported, citing US officials. The proposed agreement would also require the
Taliban to broker a separate
peace deal
with the Afghan government,
with which it has so far refused to speak, Fox News reported.However, an Afghan official hinted last week that the government of President Ashraf Ghani was preparing for direct talks
with the Taliban, the details of which have yet to be announced.
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