ISLAMABAD: The Afghan government on Saturday welcomed the move by the Biden administration to review the February 2020 deal that Washington had signed with Taliban insurgents.
Sediq Sediqqi, spokesperson of Afghan President Dr Ashraf Ghani, said in a statement that the US-Taliban agreement has so far failed to deliver the desired goal of ending Taliban violence and bringing a ceasefire. “The Taliban did not live up to its commitments,” he said.
His statement followed a phone conversation between Jake Sullivan, the new US national security adviser, and his Afghan counterpart Hamdullah Mohib.
The Biden administration on Friday said that it was looking to review the deal between Washington and the Taliban.
In the conversation with Sullivan, Mohib said that they agreed to work towards a permanent ceasefire and a just and durable peace in Afghanistan “capable of preserving the gains of the past two decades, protecting the rights of all Afghans, and continuing the reforms.”
In a series of tweets on Saturday, Mohib said that Sullivan affirmed that the partnership with the government of Afghanistan and Afghan security and defense forces remains a priority and a key to US national security objectives. “We will continue close consultations in the days and weeks ahead,” he added.
Last week, following the targeted assassination of two female judges in the capital Kabul, the US Embassy warned the Taliban to cease attacks on civilians for peace to come to Afghanistan.
“The Taliban should understand that such actions for which it bears responsibility outrage the world and must cease if peace is to come to Afghanistan,” tweeted Ross Wilson, the US chargé d’affaires.
The review comes amid the stalled intra-Afghan talks in the Qatari capital of Doha, which aimed at ending the nearly two-decade conflict in war-torn Afghanistan.
Former US President Donald Trump had made the withdrawal of US Nato troops from Afghanistan a priority. According to the US-Taliban deal, the US and Nato allies would withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by May this year if the Taliban upheld its promises.
The promises included not to allow militant outfits to operate from areas controlled by the Taliban, shunning violence and to start dialogue with the government in Kabul. Following the deal, the militants halted attacks to a greater extent on foreign troops but intensified its fight against Kabul, with the country having seen a wave of targeted killings in recent months. Journalists, activists, politicians and women judges were among those killed in targeted assassinations.
Given the volatile situation in the war-torn country, the new US administration has said that it will review a peace deal that President Trump had made with the Taliban.