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US and Taliban discuss pause in airstrikes to spur peace talks
American and Taliban negotiators are discussing a pause in U.S. airstrikes and drone flights in Afghanistan in order to revive stalled peace talks, Stars and Stripes reported Wednesday.
According to Stripes, a temporary bombing halt is one of several ideas Biden administration officials are discussing if Taliban militants agree to sharply reduce attacks and assassinations ahead of high-level peace talks planned for early next month in Istanbul.
But the idea remains a concept on paper only, dependent on steps by the Taliban to reduce violence first, several U.S. officials told Stripes.
A halt to U.S. air operations worries the Afghan government and its military, which still relies on U.S. airstrikes and aerial surveillance video from drones to help hold back the Taliban.
The move has also caused alarm among some in the Pentagon who are skeptical that concessions to the Taliban will make the militants more likely to make peace with the Afghan government, Stripes reported.
This comes ahead of the May 1 troop withdrawal deadline in accordance with the US-Taliban deal signed in February last year by former President Donald Trump’s administration.
However, the deal has been under review for the past few weeks but no decision has yet been made.
In an interview with NBC earlier this month, President Joe Biden signaled that a withdrawal by May 1 would be “tough” for U.S. troops.
He added, though, that if the deadline for the U.S. exit was extended, it would not be by “a lot longer.”
Stripes report that among the options being considered, one approach is for a 48-hour halt in U.S. military air operations after the Taliban reduces attacks, a sequencing meant to demonstrate to the group’s leadership that the U.S. is open to military concessions if Taliban fighters reduce their attacks, according to officials involved in the deliberations.
If that initial reduction in violence holds, the bombing pause could be extended.
Stripes also reported that better security across Afghanistan, in turn, is seen by U.S. officials as a prerequisite to getting Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to pursue serious talks with the Taliban on a lasting cease-fire and on forming a transitional government.
US Vice President JD Vance said on Friday that Joe Biden administration left about $80 billion worth of military equipment in Afghanistan, which was a “catastrophic error.”
Vance made the remarks during a visit to a military base in Greenland.
He also said the Biden administration’s “catastrophic error” led to the deaths of 13 US soldiers in an attack during the evacuation at Kabul airport in August 2021.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump also criticized the abandonment of military equipment in Afghanistan and called for its return.
The Islamic Emirate, however, has said that the weapons left by the US in Afghanistan belong to the Afghans and will not be returned.
The Supreme Court announced on Saturday that based on the ruling of the supreme leader of the Islamic Emirate, 2,463 prisoners have been pardoned and released on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr.
The court said in a statement that the prison terms of another 3,152 prisoners have been reduced.
Eid in Afghanistan will be celebrated on Sunday or Monday, depending on the moon sighting.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs on Saturday announced that feasibility studies of dams in four provinces of the country will begin this solar year.
The Economic Commission, led by Deputy PM Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, in its recent meeting decided to include the survey and feasibility projects of Grumby Dam in Maidan Wardak, Qara Tiri Dam in Balkh, Shana Nari Dam in Kandahar, and Wuch Nari Dam in Paktia in the budget for the fiscal year 1404.
In the meeting, the issues of construction of the Kandahar bypass highway, construction of Arghistan Dam, 90 km of electricity line from Kabul to Jalalabad, and completion of Sheikh Misri substation in Jalalabad were also discussed, and it was decided that the Ministry of Finance will allocate the revenues obtained from the Ganda Kotal lead and zinc mine in Yakawlang district of Bamyan province to these projects.
The Economic Commission meeting also approved a plan for the private sector’s investment in a 40 megawatts solar power generation project in the Hesar Shahi Industrial Park in Nangarhar province. According the plan, the private sector will invest $50.69 million in the project.
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