MEDIA reports suggest that following nine rounds of their
talks in Doha, the United States and Taliban are close to signing a deal that could bring an end to 17 year conflict in Afghanistan. The two sides have confirmed that they are preparing to ink an accord that might form the basis for reconciliation talks among Afghan factions to iron out future course of action and direction in which Afghanistan will go.
There is not yet official confirmation as to what has been agreed upon by the two sides but information leaked to media by the two sides indicate this would bring down the level of presence of American troops in Afghanistan and Taliban would undertake they would not allow their country to be used by Al-Qaeda or other groups against any other country. Analysts, however, believe that sustainability of the understanding between Washington and Taliban is doubtful as Americans would still be keeping a sizeable number of troops in Afghanistan – 8,600 as against 14,000 at the moment, meaning thereby that Americans would not be reducing their troops even by 50% against original demand of Taliban for total withdrawal and an end to occupation of Afghanistan. It is also ironical that even before signing of the deal, President Trump has started hurling threats on Taliban that his country would come back to Afghanistan with force like … never before if there was another attack on the United States. He is hinting about permanent US presence in Afghanistan, which would not only be a source of concern for those Afghans who never compromised on their independence and sovereignty but will have serious repercussions for regional countries and regional peace and security. Apart from establishment of permanent military bases, Americans have never made secret of their intentions to expropriate huge mineral wealth of Afghanistan. Under these circumstance, the causes for trouble would remain in Afghanistan even if Afghan factions successfully overcome their differences during reconciliation talks, which itself would prove to be a tricky process.
