Report about foreign troops’ exit by July is baseless

KABUL (Pajhwok): The US embassy in Kabul and the Taliban’s political office in Qatar have rejected a report that says the two sides had discussed withdrawal of all foreign forces from Afghanistan by July.

Claim: Taliban and Americans discuss withdrawal of all US forces from Afghanistan by July.

The Taliban have asked for withdrawal of all foreign troops from Afghanistan following the Doha agreement, however, the US President Joe Biden announced that the troop withdrawal process would be completed in September.
However, the Taliban accused the US of violating the agreement and refused to participate in any negotiations on the Afghan peace until all foreign troops leave Afghanistan.
However, Tolo News in a report on Sunday, quoting a source familiar with the matter, said that the Taliban and US were discussing to reach an agreement and set July as a medium date for full withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan to remove the mistrust between the two parties.
The report said that the Taliban would again return to peace talks and join Turkey conference on Afghanistan as well as reduce violence if the US agreed on the new deadline.
Sayed Akbar Agha, a former Taliban commander, talking about the matter to Tolo News, said, ““The US has set a deadline for itself and it is possible that the Taliban will not agree to it and then a new deadline in the middle will be agreed upon.”
This comes as ZalmaiKhalilzad, the US special envoy for Afghan peace process, in his latest tour to Afghanistan, has met with the representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban.
Fact checking:
A senior US diplomat in Kabul embassy rejected the report that Khalilzad discussed with Taliban in Qatar about the new deadline of foreign forces withdrawal.
The diplomat said that Khalilzad did not travel to Qatar for talking about the new deadline, but he discussed advances in peace talks, Istanbul conference and reduction of violence.
The source said that the schedule for foreign troops withdrawal was announced after consultations with the US military officials and possible Taliban attacks on withdrawing forces would be responded.
Dr. Mohammad Naeem, a spokesman of the Taliban’s political office in Qatar, said, “No new deadline is discussed.”
Outcome: The US embassy has rejected the report that says a new deadline between Khalilzad and Taliban has been discussed in Qatar. The Taliban also rejected discussions on the topic.
Verdict: The report about withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan in early July is baseless.

Ahmad Shah Erfanyar

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