Taliban hopeful Biden with stick to Trump’s Doha deal

Taliban spokesman in Doha, Mohammad Naeem said Sunday the US president-elect Joe Biden will hopefully stick to the Doha agreement signed between the group and the US in February.

It was this “conditions-based” agreement that paved the way for US troops withdrawals and for peace talks between the Afghan negotiating team and the Taliban.

However, the talks, which started on September 12 have since stalled.

Naeem meanwhile told journalists that the agreement was in the interests of the US and should not be subject to change.

“It (the agreement) serves the interest of the Afghan nation and the interest of the American nation. It should not be subject to any significant change and should be implemented in the form in which it is agreed upon,” Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem said.

“It is our expectation that the ongoing peace process and the agreement with the US government will remain on track,” Naeem said.

According to the Doha agreement, the Taliban are not to attack international forces and to prevent transnational terrorist groups, such as al-Qaeda and ISIS (Daesh) from operating in Afghanistan. They are also not permitted to attack populated urban cities.

Meanwhile ordinary Afghans also welcomed Biden’s victory, and said they hoped the new president would slow the US troop withdrawal to allow for a stable peace to take root, as opposed to Trump who said in a recent statement that he would like all American troops to be home by Christmas.

Biden said during his campaign that if he were elected, he would maintain a small troop presence in Afghanistan to ensure al-Qaeda and ISIS terrorists do not threaten the US from the war-ravaged country. But he opposed continued US involvement in Afghan nation-building.

The Taliban however have been adamant that all foreign troops withdraw for peace to be achieved.