Kabul hails US decision to rethink Taliban pact

KABUL (Pajhwok): Kabul welcomed the new US administration’s plan to review the February 2020 peace deal with the Taliban.

Presidential spokesman Sediq Sediqi said on Saturday that the US-Taliban agreement had so far failed to controlling militant-linked violence or pavng the way for a ceasefire.

“The Taliban have not lived up to their commitments,” the presidential aide said in a statement, which came after a telephone conversation between Jake Sullivan, the new US national security adviser, and his Afghan counterpart Hamdullah Mohib. A day earlier, the Biden administration said it was looking to review the pact between Washington and the Taliban.

Mohib told the US NSA that Kabul wanted to work toward a permanent ceasefire and durable peace in Afghanistan. In a series of tweets on Saturday, Mohib claimed Sullivan affirmed that the partnership with the government of Afghanistan and remained a priority and a key to US national security objectives. “We will continue close consultations in the days and weeks ahead,” the official added.

Earlier, President Joe Biden’s top security adviser has informed his Afghan counterpart the US-Taliban peace deal could be reviewed, the BBC reports. Under the agreement signed in February last year, the United States and its allies will pull out all troops from Afghanistan by May 2021.

In return, the Taliban will have to honour their pledges not to allow al-Qaeda or other militants to operate in areas under their control and continue with peace talks. The Biden administration wanted to ensure the Taliban were living up to their promises, the US National Security Council spokeswoman said.

Insurgent-linked violence in Afghanistan remain high and so do assassinations of civil society activists, journalists and judges in targeted attacks. Sullivan contacted his Afghan counterpart Hamdullah Mohib and “made clear the US intention to review the deal to make sure the Taliban adhered to their vows.

“Sullivan underscored that the US will support the peace process with a robust and regional diplomatic effort,” the NSC spokesperson said. The effort would aim to help the two sides achieve a durable political settlement and a permanent ceasefire, she added. The NSA also discussed US support for protecting the “extraordinary gains” made by Afghan women and girls.