Afghanistan’s government is pushing for a comprehensive cease-fire in the wake of a looming agreement between the Taliban and the United States that will pave way for the withdrawal of American troops and kickstart direct talks between Kabul and the insurgents.
A quarter-century ago, Afghanistan’s hard-line Sunni Taliban movement emerged as a mortal enemy of the Shi’ite clerical regime in neighboring Iran. But amid today’s high U.S.-Iran tensions, Tehran’s influence over the Taliban could sabotage its peace negotiations with Washington.
The Taliban said it believes escalating military tensions between the United States and Iran are unlikely to hurt the insurgent group's negotiations with Washington aimed at ending the war in Afghanistan.
As the Taliban and the United States appear to be on the cusp of a peace deal, Afghanistan needs a lasting cease-fire to create conditions for ending more than four decades of war in the country.
U.S. special peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has met in Kabul with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to discuss "efforts to finalize a deal with the Taliban" militants fighting the central government and U.S. and NATO troops, officials said.
U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is on a two-day visit to Pakistan to brief the country's leaders about his latest negotiations with the Afghan Taliban.
The United States and Taliban officials have announced a resumption of official negotiations for the first time since U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly halted talks three months ago to end the 18-year war.
U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad arrived in Kabul on December 4 at the start of his latest round of talks to find a solution to the 18-year Afghan conflict.
President Donald Trump has said the United States has resumed talks with the Taliban as he made an unannounced Thanksgiving visit to U.S. troops in Afghanistan -- his first to the war-torn country since taking office in 2017.
U.S. President Donald Trump has indicated peace negotiations with the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan are back on track and vowed again to withdraw American troops from the country.
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