Afghan-US deal: Trump 'congratulates' Ghani 'expresses confidence in govt's leadership'

US President Donald Trump on Sunday called his Afghan counterpart Ashraf Ghani after a landmark deal between Washington and Taliban was signed in Doha late on February 29. Ashraf Ghani took to his official twitter handle where he said that he received a phone call from Donald Trump over historical developments that took place on Saturday in Doha. Ghani also said that President Trump has expressed his confidence in Afghan government's leership and state capacity to le next steps in peace process. 

Re: Taliban Meets International Diplomats After Signing Peace Deal With US

landmark deal

United States and Taliban signed peace deal after 18 months of negotiations and 20 years of war. deal which was signed in presence of leers from Pakistan, Qatar, Turkey, India, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan would see withdrawal of US and NATO troops from Afghanistan under a timeline of 14 months. deal also requires Afghanistan to guarantee that Afghan soil would t be used as a launchp that would threaten security of United States and its allies.

Re: Afghan President Refuses To Release 5,000 Taliban Prisoners After Peace Deal

However, deal is alrey facing an obstacle as Afghan President Ashraf Ghani while talking to press, objected to certain arrangements that would see a prisoner swap between Afghanistan government and Taliban in order to start direct talks between two important stakeholders of country. According to reports, deal would require Afghan government to release around 5,000 Taliban prisoners in exchange for 1,000 Afghan security personnel by March 10. Ghani on Sunday objected to arrangements within deal as he said that government has me commitment to release 5,000 Taliban prisoners. 

Re: Pentagon Chief Says 'ro Ahe Will t Be Easy' After US-Taliban Deal

United States inved Afghanistan in 2001 following September 11 attacks that killed over 2,000 American citizens. Currently, re are 14,000 foreign troops stationed in war-torn country, most of whom are US soldiers. More than 1,00,000 Afghan citizens have lost ir lives or wounded since 2009 when UN Assistance Mission began documenting casualties. deal which was signed by US special envoy Zalmay Khalilz and Taliban political chief Mullah Abdul Ghani Barar with Mike Pompeo as a witness, could end an era of war in Afghanistan and bring prosperity to country.

Re: Ashraf Ghani Assures Afghanistan's 'goal' Of Reaching Full Ceasefire After US-Taliban Deal

Le Im Credit: AP