U.S. and Taliban to sign peace deal, invites 30 nations to witness the signing ceremony
The United States (U.S.) and Taliban are all set to sign a peace deal today, i.e., Saturday, February 29, 2020, beginning the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan after 18 years.
The U.S. will initially reduce the number of troops from 13,000 to 8,600. The deal is scheduled to be signed in Doha, the capital city of Qatar.
This comes a week after “Reduction In Violence (RIV)” agreement was announced by the U.S. and the Taliban armed group in Afghanistan. During the RIV week, 19 security forces and 4 civilians were killed in different attacks. This is seen as a decrease in the number of casualties, as compared to past weeks, majorly due to the possibility of a peace deal.
On behalf of the U.S., Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation – Zalmay Khalilzad has led the negotiations. The two sides had reached an agreement in principle in September 2019. Later, Trump cancelled a secret meeting which was scheduled to be held with the leaders of Taliban and also called off the entire peace talks with the militant group. He was also supposed to meet the President of Afghanistan – Ashraf Ghani along with the Chief Negotiator of Taliban – Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar at his Camp David retreat.
Trump then planned a surprised visit to Afghanistan in November 2019 and announced that talks have restarted. This came shortly after the Taliban released an American and Australian professor in exchange for the release of three Taliban prisoners, held by the Afghan Government.
A statement from the President of U.S. – Donald Trump said, “Soon, at my direction, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will witness the signing of an agreement with representatives of the Taliban, while Secretary of Defense Mark Esper will issue a joint declaration with the government of Afghanistan.”
He further added, “If the Taliban and the government of Afghanistan live up to these commitments, we will have a powerful path forward to end the war in Afghanistan and bring our troops home.”
Talking about the new future, Trump said, “We, therefore, urge the Afghan people to seize this opportunity for peace and a new future for their country.”
The trouble started when U.S. invaded Afghanistan in search for the then Al Qaeda Chief – Osama Bin Laden, who had masterminded the 9/11 terror attacks in the U.S.
The then President of U.S. – George W. Bush had demanded that Taliban should hand over Osama Bin Laden and expel al-Qaeda. The Taliban refused to extradite Laden unless U.S. provided them with sufficient evidence proving Laden’s involvement in 9/11 attacks.
This request of Taliban was put down by the U.S. and it launched Operation “Enduring Freedom” on October 7, 2001 with the United Kingdom. The U.S. and its allies rapidly drove the Taliban from power by December 17, 2001 and established military bases near major cities across the country. Since then, U.S. troops have been stationed in Afghanistan to curb any further rising of any terrorist activity.
Besides, the U.S. has also invited India and 30 other countries to witness the signing of the historic deal. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members and members of Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) have also been invited to attend the event.
