US to review Doha deal, says Blinken

The Biden administration has decided to review the Doha deal the Trump administration had signed with the Taliban in February 2020. The deal provided for the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, effectively drawing curtains to Washington's 18-year war in the country. The US has lost over 2,400 soldiers in Afghanistan since late 2001. Secretary of State Tony Blinken told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee during a Congressional hearing on Wednesday.

The US, Blinken said, has boosted diplomatic efforts in Afghanistan, ahead of the May 1 deadline for a final withdrawal of US troops. The president's goal is very clear, he said. “It's to bring our troops home. And it's to ensure that Afghanistan does not become a haven for terrorism and an ongoing threat to the United States,” he said. Not only are we doing that, as important, we're enlisting other countries, the United Nations, in that effort. Many of Afghanistan's neighbours have a real stake in its future and influence with the parties,Blinken said.

The Biden administration on Tuesday said the US is working closely with Afghan parties to encourage progress on a political settlement and a comprehensive ceasefire, asserting that any durable outcome has to be Afghan-led and Afghan-owned, and it is not for the US to dictate the deals. While the diplomatic effort is ongoing, the US is reviewing its own troop posture, he said. India, a major stakeholder in Afghanistan, has been keenly following the evolving political situation after the US signed a peace deal with the Taliban. India has extended developmental assistance to tune of around USD 3 billion in the last few years to Afghanistan.