Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and Zalmay Khalilzad shake hands after signing peace agreement in Qatar on Feb.29, 2020. File/Reuters
It is so unfortunate that despite a peace deal signed by the United States of America and the Afghan Taliban last year in February, the situation in Afghanistan still remains bad, in fact worse. Innocent Afghan people are losing their lives on a daily basis and destruction is everywhere (“Biden administration to review US-Taliban withdrawal deal,”
The Biden administration said it will review a landmark US deal with the Taliban, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told his Afghan counterpart in a phone call on Friday.
According to a White House statement, the move seeks to explore “whether the Taliban was living up to its commitments to cut ties with terrorist groups, to reduce violence in Afghanistan, and to engage in meaningful negotiations with the Afghan government and other stakeholders.”
The Afghan war is the longest war the United States has ever fought. The peace agreement between the United States and the Afghan Taliban was welcomed by the whole world, and the world was optimistic that the peace agreement would bring an end to almost two decades of war.
But the reality on the ground has not changed much. Afghanistan is still a battleground and acts of terrorism are going on everywhere in the country.
The new US government under the leadership of President Biden must review a landmark US deal with the Afghan Taliban and bring about peace and stability in Afghanistan.
Shoukat Kasmi
By email