US-Taliban to Sign Peace Agreement in Qatar Later This Month

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The Taliban, an armed rebel group in Afghanistan, announced that they will sign a peace agreement with the United States at the end of this month.

Bloomberg News reported on the 17th, citing statements from Zabihullah Mujahid, Taliban spokesperson, and Abdul Salam Hanafi, deputy head of the Taliban political office, that the peace agreement signing ceremony will be held in Doha, Qatar at the end of this month.

Doha is where the Taliban's political office, serving as their external liaison, is located.

Deputy Head Hanafi said in an interview with the pro-Taliban online media 'Nunn.Asia', "We will invite neighboring countries of Afghanistan, United Nations Security Council member states, Islamic countries, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and other countries related to the Afghan peace issue to attend as witnesses at the signing ceremony."

He added, "Recently, we had a very good meeting with the United States," and "As of now, the negotiations are concluded."

It was revealed that the Afghan government and the United States plan to release 5,000 Taliban prisoners in exchange for receiving over 1,000 Afghans detained by the Taliban.

He further stated that direct talks with the Afghan government will only begin after the peace negotiations are finalized and the Taliban prisoners are released.

The Taliban was ousted from power by the United States immediately after the September 11, 2001 attacks but has since regained strength and currently controls more than half of Afghanistan's territory.

Since mid-2018, they have been engaged in direct peace negotiations with the United States.

Last September, they even prepared a draft peace agreement including partial withdrawal of U.S. troops, but failed to formally sign it. Both sides resumed meetings from December last year.

On the 15th, the United States and the Taliban agreed to enter a temporary ceasefire starting next week, implementing a 'reduction in violence' measure that includes refraining from all violent acts such as suicide bombings for seven days.