US-Taliban agreement a withdawal pact for American troops , Haqqani

 A former Pakistani diplomat has said that the agreement between the US and the Taliban has no element of peace and is basically a withdrawal pact for American troops from the war-torn Afghanistan. The Taliban were made to commit to only one thing, that they would enter intra-Afghan talks, not that they would agree to peace, Husain Haqqani, the former Pakistani Ambassador to the US, said on Friday during a virtual event in US. Haqqani said the definition of peace for the Taliban is very different from the US or the Afghan government. The Taliban believes that once their Islamic Emirate is restored, peace is restored,” said Haqqani, who currently is Director for South and Central Asia at Hudson Institute.

“When state actors and non-state actors negotiate, usually there is a ceasefire as part of the deal. That hasn't been done in Afghanistan? I don’t understand what reduction in violence is, does it mean 2 people instead of 10 being killed or 10 instead of 20?” he asked. The Afghan government and the people of the country would welcome the predictability and discipline that might come with change of administration in the US, he noted.

The Trump administration signed the peace deal with Taliban in February last year in Doha. The accord drew up plans for withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in exchange for security guarantees from the insurgent group. As part of the deal, the US committed to withdraw its 12,000 troops within 14 months. There are currently only 2,500 American troops left in the country.The Taliban committed to prevent other groups, including al Qaeda, from using Afghan soil to recruit, train or fund raise toward activities that threaten the US or its allies.