US Reaches ‘In Principle’ Agreement With Taliban, To Withdraw 5,000 Troops Within 135 Days From Afghanistan

The United States and Taliban have reached an in-principle peace agreement in Afghanistan, which shall come into force once the US President Donald Trump gives his nod to the proposed pact, reports Asian News International (ANI).

Under the agreement, the US will pull back about 5,000 soldiers from its five bases in Afghanistan within 135 days, if Taliban meets the conditions set in the draft agreement reached by the two sides during the latest round of peace talks.

"Yes, we have reached an agreement in principle," said Zalmay Khalilzad, the US special envoy to Afghanistan. “Of course, it is not final until the US president agrees on it. So, at the moment, we are at that stage," he added.

The agreement between US and Taliban is an outcome of nine rounds of peace talks held over the past ten months.

At present the US has its 14,000 soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan, a figure which soared to as high as 1,00,000 in 2011 under the then US president Barack Obama. However, in 2017, the figure had also dipped to an all-time low of 8,300 soldiers on the ground.

It should be noted that Khalilzad has clarified that the US would not accept the return of Islamic Emirate to Afghanistan which is the term used for Taliban's governance system.