‘Taliban Deal Is A Chance For Peace But Concerns Remain’

KABUL: A ‘reduction in violence’ that has held for a week and has infused Afghans with hope for a comprehensive ceasefire will continue for the foreseeable future—that’s the immediate bottomline after U.S. Special representative Zalmay Khalilzad and deputy political head of Taliban Mullah Baradar signed a deal in Doha, Qatar. Shabeer Ahmadi, Tolo News Foreign Desk Head and StratNews Global Associate Editor Amitabh P. Revi discuss the roadmap of the peace process after a simultaneous release of a Kabul declaration by President-elect Ashraf Ghani, U.S. Secretary of Defence Mark Esper and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Shabeer Ahmadi talks about the intra-Afghan talks that are scheduled to start in Oslo on March 10, the interim confidence building measure of prisoner swaps, the conditional withdrawal of U.S. and foreign troops within 14 months, the Taliban breaking ties with Al Qaida and other terrorist groups, India being one of the first countries to recognise the election results and the Presidential poll controversy.