Taliban Say Hold Talks With U.S. Afghan Envoy in Qatar

Date: 21 January 2019 - 21:08

News ID: ۶۲۳۲۵

KABUL (Dispatches) – The Taliban met U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad in Qatar on Monday, the militant group said, days after threatening to pull out of Afghan talks and hours after Taliban militants killed more than 100 members of the Afghan security forces.
"Talks between Taliban leaders and U.S. officials have started today in Qatar,” Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement.
A source close to the talks said members of the Taliban’s political office were meeting with Khalilzad in Doha, adding: "They will hopefully finalize a timeline and mechanism of the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan.”
More than 17 years of the United States’ presence in Afghanistan at the top of a military coalition have brought nothing but chaos and insecurity to the country as a result of which all forms of organized crimes, especially production of illicit drugs, have been skyrocketing. The country has also turned into a hotbed of violent acts by major terror outfits, especially Daesh.
Following its defeat in Iraq and Syria, Daesh terrorists have been shifting attention to Afghanistan during past months, making the country a new center of their atrocious acts of terrorism in a bid to sow more insecurity across the whole region.
Having failed to end the militancy campaign, Washington has over the past months stepped up its political efforts to secure a truce with Taliban.
U.S. President Donald Trump has reportedly ordered the withdrawal of some 7,000 troops from Afghanistan. The figure accounts for about half of the total number of American boots on the ground in the country.
But a later White House announcement has cast doubt on reports about Trump’s order.
The Taliban have not formally responded to the partial US troop withdrawal. But a senior commander recently told media outlets that the group was "more than happy.”