After more than 19 years of fighting in the Taliban, the US president said before leaving for India that he wanted a deal and that the ceasefire is being maintained • The signing ceremony is expected to take place in Qatar
Trump before his departure for India // Photo: AFP
"Sign a peace treaty with the Taliban," US President Donald Trump announced Sunday. This is a record moment for the peace process Trump has conducted through his envoy, Zalmai Khalilzad, in front of the Taliban's political bureau.
Before his departure for a flight to India, Trump said: "Taliban have been fighting for more than a decade. We have been in combat for more than 19 years. We think they want to make a deal, we want to make a deal. The ceasefire already holds a day and a half."
According to previous publications, the signing ceremony is expected to take place on Saturday - thus ending the fighting since 2001. Taliban political bureau spokesman Sohil Shahin has already said the signing of the peace agreement will be in Doha. According to his argument, the agreement states that all foreign forces will leave Afghanistan. "No one is allowed to use the territory of Afghanistan to fight others," Shahin said. If the Bureau's spokesman's claims are true - then 12,000 American troops will leave Afghanistan.
Recall that the beginning of the war in Afghanistan occurred following the September 11 terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda, which used the Taliban's rule in the country to act on its territory. Officially, the war ended on December 28, 2014, but US coalition forces remained in the country to help establish the democratic regime.
On September 28 last year, the last presidential election was held, with incumbent President Ashraf Ghani winning 50.64% of the vote. Second place was Abdullah Abdullah who received 39.52%. The official results were only released last Tuesday - after allegations of irregularities and forgery.
The pending peace agreement with the Taliban could be a blow to Iran's Ayatollah rule. Qods Force commander Kassem Suleimani, who was assassinated last January, was also responsible for Afghanistan's instability. Just this week, the Uruguayan police chief said that Tehran provided Taliban forces in the Farah province, bordering Iran, shoulder-fired missiles. An agreement with the Taliban may in this context cut off the terrorist organization from the Islamic Republic. On the other hand, with the departure of US forces, Iran may have wide freedom of action More.
As mentioned, President Trump and First Lady Melania will be visiting India for the next two days. There, Trump will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. If the agreement in Afghanistan is indeed signed on Saturday in Doha, it is expected to remain in the US Central Command, which controls the segment from Afghanistan and Pakistan in the East and the Middle East to Egypt in the West - with the exception of Israel, Turkey and Cyprus under European command.