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Washington:
Quite a few Taliban prisoners who have been launched by the Afghan authorities as a situation for peace talks have taken up arms once more, high official Abdullah Abdullah mentioned Tuesday.
Abdullah, who chairs Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation and is overseeing the federal government’s peace efforts, mentioned discussions with the Taliban in Qatar up to now have been constructive.
However, he mentioned some — although not the bulk — of the 5,000 Taliban prisoners launched by the federal government as a situation for talks had resumed the battle in opposition to Kabul.
“I do know that some have returned to the battlefield, which is a violation of the agreement that they had made,” Abdullah mentioned throughout a web-based convention with the US Council on Foreign Relations.
Abdullah mentioned talks between the 2 sides had begun in Doha on a constructive notice, because the delegations construct some familiarity with one another.
Yet the extent of violence inside Afghanistan has not fallen, and he known as on the United States, which launched the peace course of with its personal take care of the Taliban, and Pakistan, which maintains ties to the insurgents, to stress them to conform to a ceasefire.
“Unfortunately, so far, the level of violence is very high and to a level that is not acceptable for the people,” Abdullah mentioned.
“I repeat my call to the Taliban themselves and also to all partners who have any leverage over the Taliban to press on that point.”
Abdullah mentioned he deliberate to go to Pakistan within the coming days for the primary time since 2008.
The persistent violence, and the Taliban’s failure to utterly lower relations with the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda jihadist teams, was singled out as a barrier to success by US officers testifying in Congress Tuesday.
US chief negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad mentioned a drawdown of US troops, underneath the US-Taliban settlement, would halt at round 4,500 remaining in Afghanistan in November whereas Washington assesses whether or not the insurgents have been residing as much as their pledges.
“Further withdrawals will be determined based on conditions on the ground and delivery by the Taliban on their commitments,” Khalilzad informed a listening to of the House oversight committee.
The US has slashed troop numbers in Afghanistan by greater than half from above 12,000.
Under President Donald Trump’s promise to finish US involvement in wars overseas, Washington has pledged to withdraw all forces by May 2021, if the Taliban and the federal government can obtain a strong peace settlement.
“By any measure, the current levels of violence are too high. We know that the reductions are possible,” Khalilzad mentioned, noting quick ceasefires have been revered by the Taliban previously.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is printed from a syndicated feed.)
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