Published 10:29 IST, September 8th 2019
Afghanistan-US peace talks paused post US decision to extract troops
Peace talks between Afghanistan and the US have come to a pause post declaration of the US to extract foreign troops which were followed by an attack by Taliban
Pakistan, China and Afghanistan has called for a withdrawal of foreign troops on September 7. The US and Afghanistan are attempting to move towards a peace negotiation. Henceforth, a withdrawal of foreign troops is to be conducted in an orderly manner. However, this was followed by insurgent attacks that killed an American soldier along with 11 other people. President Trump responded immediately, stating that all peace deals are off the table.
Taliban refusing to communicate with the administration of Afghanistan
The Taliban so far has refused to communicate with the Afghan administration. The administration is led by President Ashraf Ghani. The Taliban views Ashraf Ghani as a US stooge and have not conducted any peace talks with him. The US deal to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan however, will not be achieved unless there are an 'intra-Afghan' talks happening with the insurgents and Kabul.
Intra-Afghan talks
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi talking about the recent developments stated that China and Pakistan are looking forward to peaceful negotiations between the Taliban and the US. Yi encouraged both the parties to have intra-Afghan talks to attain their goals. He further persisted to 'continue negotiations and to reach an agreement'. Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Pakistan's Foreign Minister made a statement asserting that Pakistan 'will take measures to further manage our borders so nobody uses our soil against Afghanistan or other countries'.
(Inputs from PTI)
Updated 12:55 IST, September 8th 2019