Taliban say peace talks with US will resume in few days

ISLAMABAD: Afghan Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said on Thursday that formal peace negotiations will resume with the United States in a few days, after a nearly three-month suspension.
Shaheen’s comments came a day after the State Department said Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad will “rejoin talks with the Taliban” in Qatar, where the Taliban have political headquarters.
President Donald Trump in early September halted peace talks with the Taliban aimed at striking a deal allowing US and other foreign troops to withdraw in exchange for Taliban security guarantees, following the death of a US soldier and 11 others in a Taliban bomb attack in Kabul.
“Talks are expected in the coming few days to sign the agreement,” Shaheen told Arab News on Thursday, when asked about the State Department’s statement.
The Taliban and the US had finalized the peace agreement in August at the conclusion of the ninth round of talks, but the signing was blocked when Trump put a pause on the process.
Shaheen in an earlier interview with Arab News had stated that the peace agreement was scheduled to be inked on Sept. 13 and would be followed by the Taliban declaring a cease-fire with the US and its NATO allies.
Khalilzad, who arrived in Afghan capital Kabul on Wednesday in his renewed peace efforts, met President Ashraf Ghani, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah and several Afghan leaders involved in the peace process.
The Presidential Palace in Kabul said the meeting “focused on the cease-fire and the problem of Taliban hideouts outside the country, which were discussed during a recent meeting of the presidents of the two countries (Afghanistan and the US).”
President Ghani told Khalilzad that both issues should be taken seriously to take the peace process forward, according to a statement issued by the palace on Wednesday.
The State Department said Khalilzad will meet with Afghan government representatives and other Afghan leaders in Kabul to follow up on President Trump’s recent visit and to discuss how best to support accelerated efforts to get all parties to intra-Afghan negotiations.
Trump told American troops at Bagram Air Base last week that the Taliban want a deal and also agree to a cease-fire.
“The Taliban wants to make a deal. We’ll see if they want to make a deal. It’s got to be a real deal, but we’ll see. But they want to make a deal. And they only want to make a deal because you’re doing a great job. That’s the only reason they want to make a deal,” the US president said, according to the text of his speech posted on the White House’s website.
According to the State Department, Khalilzad will also discuss with the Taliban steps that could lead to intra-Afghan negotiations and “a peaceful settlement of the war, specifically a reduction in violence that leads to a cease-fire.”