The US and the Taliban movement are nearing an agreement envisaging the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in exchange for the insurgents’ pledge to prevent groups like al-Qaeda* terrorist organization from infiltrating the country ever again.
The new round of US-Taliban talks started on Monday in the Qatari capital, where Taliban has a political office.
“The discussions have been focused on two issues — the withdrawal of the troops and that the soil of Afghanistan will not be used against anyone,” a senior Taliban official told the news outlet late on Thursday, refraining, however, from confirming that any relevant agreement had been reached so far.
While another senior source confirmed that the details had not yet been finalized, former Taliban official Sayed Akbar Agha and Western diplomatic sources told the newspaper that the negotiators could make an announcement regarding the agreement on Thursday. However, later in the day, the only thing that the Taliban announced was the appointment of a new chief negotiator.