Afghanistan And America Agreement

In February 2019, a new round of talks took place in Qatar, this time with Baradar in the Taliban delegation[79] – he had been released by Pakistan in October 2018 at the request of the United States. [80] [81] Khalilzad stated that this round of negotiations was „more productive than in the past“ and that a draft peace agreement had been concluded. The agreement included the withdrawal of U.S. and international troops from Afghanistan and the Taliban, which did not allow other jihadist groups to operate inside the country. [79] The Taliban also announced progress in the negotiations. [79] On February 29, 2020, the United States and the Taliban signed a peace agreement in Doha, Qatar, officially titled „Afghanistan Peace Agreement.“ [95] The provisions of the agreement include the withdrawal of all U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan, a Taliban promise to prevent Al Qaeda from operating in as-controlled areas and talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government. [96] The United States has agreed to reduce its initial level from 13,000 to 8,600 by July 2020, followed by a total withdrawal within 14 months if the Taliban meet their commitments. [7] The United States also committed to closing five military bases within 135 days[97] and announced its intention to end economic sanctions against the Taliban by August 27, 2020. [98] The agreement also provides that the Taliban and the Afghan government will begin a „dialogue and negotiations“ on 10 March 2020, a date that has already expired. The specific themes of this „dialogue and negotiations“ are not specified, but they should at least include the role of the Taliban in a future Afghan government, the role of Islamic law in the Afghan constitution, the protection and rights of women and other minorities and, ultimately, the direction of the country. As a precursor to intra-Afghan negotiations, the agreement states that the United States is ready to cooperate „with all parties concerned“ in the release of war prisoners and political prisoners.

The agreement provided that the Afghan government would release 5,000 Taliban prisoners by March 10, 2020 and that the Taliban would release 1,000 Afghan prisoners. The release of the prisoners is described as a „spokesman for trust“ to stimulate talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government. On March 27, 2020, the Afghan government announced the creation of a 21-member negotiating team for peace talks. However, on March 29, the Taliban rejected the team on the grounds that „we will only be sitting in talks with a negotiating team that is consistent with our agreements and built up according to established principles.“ [122] On 31 March 2020, a three-member Taliban delegation arrived in Kabul to discuss the release of the prisoners. [123] They are the first Taliban representatives to visit Kabul since 2001. [123] The Afghan government had also agreed to conduct the talks at Bagram prison. [123] However, on the same day, the Afghan government announced that the Taliban`s refusal to accept a new ceasefire and the Taliban delegation`s refusal to appear in prison on the scheduled date had both led to the postponement of the prisoner exchange. [125] [126] [127] After the arrival of the Taliban delegation, a senior Afghan government official told the Reuters news agency that „the release of the prisoners could take place in a few days, if all goes according to plan.“ [124] On February 29, 2020, the United States and the Afghan Taliban signed a peace agreement in Doha, Qatar, to end the long war in Afghanistan.