'Brief pause' in US-Taliban talks after suicide attack, announces envoy Khalilzad

US special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad said that the United States has paused talks with extremist group Taliban after the group orchestrated an attack on an American base in Afghanistan, claiming the lives of two people. Khalilzad expressed his anger on the attack that took place in Bagram, adding that the talks between the US and Taliban will resume after the group consult their leaders on the concerned topic.

Taliban orchestrated suicide attack

Khalilzad posted a tweet in which he said that the extremist group should show that they are willing to establish a peaceful environment in Afghanistan.

A Taliban orchestrated suicide attack on an under-construction medical facility located near Bagram, a major US base north of Kabul, claimed the lives of two people. According to reports, the suicide bomber struck the base by detonating his bomb-packed vehicle just outside a hospital. The attack came despite talks that had resumed between the US and Taliban.

Read: Afghan War Can End In Few Weeks If Pak Denies Safe Heaven To Taliban: US Senator Graham

Read: Afghanistan: Taliban Abducts 6 Tribal Elders Amid Peace Efforts

End of road between the US and Taliban?

The US has purportedly resumed talks with the Taliban in Qatar on December 7, three months after Donald Trump abruptly halted diplomatic efforts and called it "dead." The talks in Doha focused on the reduction of violence through a ceasefire and intra-Afghan negotiations.

Donald Trump had confirmed the resumption of talks, however, had refused to give a timeline for the drawdown of US troops.  "Yes," Trump told a small group of reporters at the Bagram Air Field on November 29. The Taliban had called the decision to abolish the talks as 'unbelievable' and further went on to say that Donald Trump's 'disappointing' tweets 'damaged his credibility.'

The decision to call off the peace negotiation with the Taliban came after Donald Trump called off the meeting with the Taliban after being on the 'threshold' of the agreement. "They (talks with the Taliban) are dead. As far as I'm concerned, they're dead," Trump told reporters at the White House in September.

Read: 'Savage Taliban-style Justice' Will Make Courts Irrelevant: Sibal On Telangana Encounter

Read: Afghan Government Says Taliban Should Accept US Offer Of Ceasefire Agreement

(With inputs from agencies)