Afghan Government and Taliban Tentatively Agree on 2-Week Ceasefire... Agreement Falls Through, Revealed Late

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] It has been revealed that the Islamic militant group Taliban temporarily agreed to a two-week ceasefire with the Afghan government just before retaking control of Afghanistan.

According to a report on the 17th (local time) by Bloomberg News, citing sources familiar with the matter, Afghan current and former officials and the Taliban recently reached a tentative agreement on a two-week ceasefire during peace talks held in Doha, Qatar, on the condition of initiating discussions regarding President Ashraf Ghani's resignation and the establishment of a transitional government.

Earlier, former U.S. President Donald Trump agreed with the Taliban last year to withdraw U.S. troops by May of this year, and since then, the Afghan government and the Taliban have been conducting peace negotiations starting in September.

Since the U.S. began withdrawing troops in May, the Taliban's offensive accelerated, and to avoid chaos, behind-the-scenes negotiations involving both sides as well as U.S. and allied diplomats have continued in Doha.

According to the tentative agreement, after the ceasefire, former Afghan President Hamid Karzai and current and former officials were expected to act as mediators for power-sharing negotiations between the government and the Taliban.

However, the ceasefire plan reportedly fell apart as the Taliban took control of Afghanistan faster than expected, and President Ghani suddenly fled abroad.

Bloomberg News reported that the Afghan government negotiation team in Doha, as well as U.S. diplomats, were surprised by the news of Ghani's escape abroad.

His flight also makes it unlikely that the power-sharing plan discussed at the negotiation table will be realized.

A senior researcher at the U.S. think tank New America Foundation said, "The Taliban now hold all power in Afghanistan and are unlikely to want to share it."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.