Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News – 29-08-2019
An Al Jazeera political analyst has told Radio Islam that the US and Donald Trump are in a hurry to get out of Afghanistan as the Taliban and the Americans put the final touches on a peace agreement.
It’s understood the two sides were close to finalizing an agreement during the ninth round of negotiations, which entered their seventh day on Wednesday.
The deal will see the US and other foreign forces gradually withdraw from Afghanistan in exchange for a commitment by the Taliban that the country will not be used as a launchpad for global attacks.
Speaking from Doha, Hashmatullah Moslih says the US and Trump want the peace agreement expedited so they can leave Afghanistan.
“They are tired of it; there is no economic benefit for the Americans. Afghanistan remains to be one of the poorest nations on earth. Most of its resources are underdeveloped. All the roads that you have there are on top of very soft soil. I could say that sixty to seventy percent of those roads are now crumbling and the government does not have the budget to rebuild them.”
Moslih says the Taliban’s political spokesman Suhail Shaheen indicated that a deal was on the table.
However, he says he is unsure of the role of the Afghan government in the peace agreement and whether their wishes were taken into account.
“One would say for sure the Americans would’ve had backdoor discussions with the Afghan government throughout the negotiation and putting their account from the very beginning while negotiating with the Taliban.”
Moslih says the Taliban may also have had discussions with Al Qaeda and possibly reached an accord with the group about the peace agreement with the US.
Listen to the interview with Hashmatullah Moslih
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