US to Withdraw All Forces 'Within 14 Months', Says US-Afghan Declaration Ahead of Taliban Peace Deal
'US will reduce the number of US military forces in Afghanistan to 8,600 and implement other commitments in the US-Taliban agreement within 135 days of the announcement of this joint declaration and the US-Taliban agreement,' the joint declaration was reported as saying by TOLO News.
Doha, February 29: Ahead of the signing of historic peace deal with the Taliban, the United States and Afghanistan issued a joint declaration committing to the expedited withdrawal of American forces from the war torn region. The commitment, however, would be adhered to by Washington only if Taliban abides by the agreements made in the proposed peace deal, the US-Afghan declaration underlined. Pakistan PM Imran Khan Meets Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani Ahead of Signing of US-Taliban Peace Deal.
"US aims to withdraw all forces 'within 14 months' as per US-Afghan declaration," the statement read, adding that the first phase of America's exit from Afghanistan would be visible within four-and-a-half-month of the signing of peace deal with Taliban.
"US will reduce the number of US military forces in Afghanistan to 8,600 and implement other commitments in the US-Taliban agreement within 135 days of the announcement of this joint declaration and the US-Taliban agreement," the joint declaration was reported as saying by TOLO News.
The US would, however, reserve the right to militarily intervene if other insurgent groups, including the Al-Qaeda and ISIS-Khorasan, attempt to derail the peace process.
Update by ANI
"The United States of America reaffirms its readiness to continue to conduct military operations in Afghanistan with the consent of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in order to disrupt and degrade efforts by al-Qaeda, ISIS-K and other international terrorist groups or individuals to carry out attacks against the United States or its allies," the declaration further added.
The "Taliban peace deal", to be signed in Doha later this evening, is expected to bring an end to 18 years of war in Afghanistan. The prime insurgent group, through backchannel talks over the past two years, agreed to strike a peace deal with the United States if the latter agrees to retreat from the region. While the US has committed to exit Afghanistan in a phased manner, it wants Taliban to take a pledge through the Doha accord that it would hold "peaceful negotiations" with the Ashraf Ghani-led regime in Kabul.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 29, 2020 06:39 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).