Daily Times

As the Biden administration has accused the Taliban of “not meeting their commitments” and hinted at reviewing the Doha agreement, the Taliban also announced on Monday to “reassess” the deal if the US did not withdraw troops in May.

Suhail Shaheen, a senior member of the Taliban negotiation team, speaking at a news conference in Tehran, said the Taliban will continue armed struggle against the foreign forces if they stay beyond the deadline.

Under the US-Taliban agreement, signed on February 29 last year, the Taliban gave assurances that they “will not allow any of its members, other individuals or groups, including al Qaeda, to use the soil of Afghanistan to threaten the security of the United States and its allies” in exchange for the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Afghanistan by May 2021.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said last week that the Taliban have not met their commitments. “Without them (Taliban) meeting our commitments to renounce terrorism and to stop the violent attacks on the Afghan National security forces and by dint of that the Afghan people, it’s very hard to see a specific way forward for the negotiated settlement,” Kirby said a press conference.

On Sunday, Reuters quoted four unnamed NATO officials as saying international troops plan to stay in Afghanistan beyond the May deadline. The Taliban on Monday broke silence at the Biden administration’s plan to review the February 2020 agreement for withdrawal of all foreign troops in 14 months.

“If the US and NATO troops remain in Afghanistan after 14 months that means continuation of the occupation of Afghanistan. We have resisted the occupation over the past 20 years and in such a case, we will have no choice but to continue our Jihad and struggle,” Shaheen said in Tehran after a Taliban delegation held talks with senior Iranian officials.

He said the Taliban had reached an agreement with the US and the new administration should remain committed to their commitments and withdraw from Afghanistan within the period of 14 months.

“If they did not withdraw, we will reassess that agreement,” the Taliban leader said.

He said the Taliban are looking for the formation of an Islamic and inclusive government and are negotiating with all Afghan parties in Doha, adding the Taliban are not after monopolizing the power.

“Part of the agreement with the US administration that we have signed refers to the formation of an Islamic government in the future. This means the current administration in Kabul will go and a new ruling system with an Islamic nature will come to power,” Shaheen said.

He said the talks currently on-going are based on the Doha agreement and a new government based on the intra-Afghan talks will come to power. He claimed that Russia and Iran have agreed to the Taliban proposals.

Meanwhile the Taliban dismissed as “baseless assertion” a statement by the representatives of a number of European and other countries that the Taliban have continued a senseless war, killed civilians, destroyed public infrastructure and been involved in assassinations.

“Unfortunately, most countries including the European Union are either directly or indirectly involved in the tragedies, destruction, bombings, killings and various other crimes being experienced by our people for the past twenty years, and some are still exerting efforts to extend the presence of foreign occupation forces in Afghanistan and to prolong the on-going conflict,” a Taliban statement said.

The statement said if the Doha agreement is implemented, it will prove beneficial and in the interest of America along with other involved countries as well as the Afghans. “However, if some discard the Doha accord and keep searching for excuses to continue the war and protract the occupation, then history has proven that the Afghan Mujahid nation can valiantly defend its values, soil, homeland and rights,” the statement further said.