Conditions of US-Taliban agreement unfulfilled, US has unfinished business in Afghanistan: Khalilzad
Nov 01, 2021
Kabul [Afghanistan], November 1 : Former US special representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad has said that the US still has unfinished business in Afghanistan as President Joe Biden selected a calendar-based withdrawal rather than a conditions-based agreement under former President Donald Trump's administration.
Khalilzad said that the US had made a conditions-based agreement under former President Donald Trump's administration, however, the new administration chose a calendar-based withdrawal, reported TOLOnews citing his interview with FOX news.
Highlighting the fact that some conditions of the US-Taliban agreement have not been materialized, Tolo news quoted Khalilzad said, "The Taliban have not implemented those. We want to hold the Taliban accountable for those agreements. I advocated that rather than disengaging, we need to press the Taliban to negotiate and reach an agreement on the implementation of the remaining parts dealing with terrorism and the establishment of a broad-based government."
However, the Taliban has accused the US of not fulfilling the agreement made.
"The agreement signed in Doha, implemented by our side, among important points of the agreement, it was mentioned that Afghanistan's soil is not to be used against America and its allies, and it is not used, as all witness. It is implemented," the news channel quoted a spokesperson of Taliban Zabiullah Mujahid as saying.
Notably, the US and Taliban had signed an agreement in February 2020 that paved the way for the withdrawal of the US troops from the war-torn country.
Earlier, Khalilzad had said that the United States was losing the war to the Taliban so it chose negotiations as an alternative.
Talking to CBS News, Khalilzad said the US military tried many times to strengthen its position on the battleground, but it failed.
"The negotiation was a result of--based on the judgment that we weren't winning the war and therefore time was not on our side and better to make a deal sooner than later," Tolo News quoted Khalilzad said.
