Taliban threatens to end talks with US: Here's why
What's the story
The Taliban yesterday threatened to end contact with the US if they deflect from the issue of foreign force withdrawal from Afghanistan. The issue is a key demand of the hardline Islamic militants to end the 17-year Afghan war. The Taliban issued statement even as Washington's peace envoy makes another round of the region in pursuit of a negotiated end to Afghanistan's protracted conflict.
US motive
US negotiating to end war because of Trump's election promise
Washington is making several attempts to end the war so that President Donald Trump makes good on his 2016 campaign promise to end America's involvement. Yesterday, the US Embassy in Kabul said Zalmay Khalilzad had arrived in Kabul following visits to India, the United Arab Emirates, and China. The Afghan-born former US ambassador to Kabul was named to oversee Washington's peace efforts last year.
Information
Taliban refuses to directly meet representatives of Kabul government
Khalilzad was to meet President Ashraf Ghani, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, and other political leaders to discuss the next steps in US efforts to get an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process started. The Taliban has repeatedly refused to directly meet with representatives of the Kabul-government.
Statement
Here's the two-point agenda on which Taliban and US agreed
According to the statement, the US in November meetings had agreed on a two-point agenda: Withdrawal of foreign troops and guarantees that Afghanistan wouldn't again be used as it was by al-Qaeda to plot attacks on other countries. The statement accused Washington of seeking to expand the agenda, presumably a reference to a US demand that the Taliban hold direct talks with the Afghan-government.