Doha, August 28: The Taliban and the United States negotiators have on Tuesday moved close to reach an agreement on the Afghan peace process to put an end to 18-year-long war and crisis in Afghanistan, as Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, voiced hope for a pact under which American armed forces will withdraw in large numbers from the war-torn nation.
The development came on the fifth day of peace talks scheduled in Doha, the Qatari capital, between the Taliban and the US, according to Dawn.
Standing near Doha members’ club where talks were held, Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen told journalists: “We have progressed in this round so we are finalizing the remaining points.”
He also said an agreement could be likely unveiled “as soon as the remaining points are finalized”.
The Doha negotiations, the ninth round of peace talks between the Taliban and Washington are taking place against a backdrop of the continued offensive in Afghanistan.
A Taliban commander on Tuesday said the insurgent group will continue their fight against the America-backed Afghanistan government and make efforts to seize power by its forces.
As the Taliban and the United States‘ special negotiators push discussions to wrap-up talks which aimed at finalizing the foreign troops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan, disagreements remain in place over a pact that would mean an end to the insurgents’ group’s fight with the Afghan forces backed by America.
US special representative for Afghan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, have been stressing on the Taliban to agree to hold direct talks with the Kabul government and to maintain a ceasefire in the region, but a top-level Taliban official has said this could never happen.
Another Taliban commander stated a ceasefire deal was likely to be inked this week under which the American armed forces, which continue to provide all vital aerial machine support to the Afghan troops, will cease targeting the Taliban and that the insurgents would end their battle against the US forces.
Khalilzad, however, dismissed the resolution that American forces would no longer back the Afghan government, stating “no one should be intimidated or fooled by propaganda”.