Taliban Violating Spirit of Peace Deal With U.S., Envoy Says
Taliban Violating Spirit of Peace Deal With U.S., Envoy Says
(Bloomberg) -- Taliban attacks on Afghan government forces and civilians violate the spirit of a February peace deal, but the U.S. believes negotiations are still the only viable way forward, the American envoy for the talks said.
The Taliban has stuck to its commitment, spelled out in a Feb. 29 agreement with the U.S., not to attack coalition forces, and the group has also reduced violence in major population centers, U.S. special representative Zalmay Khalilzad told reporters on Friday. But he said that wasn’t good enough given recent violence.
“We believe that they are in violation of the spirit given the numbers of attacks and the Afghan casualties in those attacks,” Khalilzad said. “I still believe the peace process is the best option with all its difficulties and therefore we will persist.”
The February agreement -- intended to help bring an end to America’s longest war -- included a pledge to cut U.S. troop numbers in exchange for a Taliban commitment not to attack coalition forces and keep Afghanistan from becoming a terrorist haven. It was also supposed to pave the way for talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government.
But those intra-Afghan talks haven’t started, and prospects for the peace agreement have been thrown into doubt in recent weeks with a surge in violence, including attacks on a maternity ward and a funeral ceremony that killed 40 people, including newborn babies.
After the attack on the maternity ward in a Shiite neighborhood of Kabul, President Ashraf Ghani ordered government forces to resume operations against the Taliban, even though the group denied involvement and the U.S. concluded that Islamic State fighters in Afghanistan were responsible. Khalilzad reiterated that conclusion Friday.
Despite the violence, Khalilzad said the U.S. was proceeding with its commitment to cut U.S. troop levels to 8,600 within 135 days of the deal’s signing.
“Yes there are challenges, very important challenges the peace process is facing,” he said. “In the current circumstances I don’t see a better alternative that serves our interest, counter-terrorism, reduction of the burden of Afghanistan, that at the same time ends the Afghan tragedy.”
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