A week-long partial truce came into effect across Afghanistan early Saturday, with the Taliban, the US and Afghan forces all signed up to a lull that could be a turning point in the long conflict.
Both US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the Taliban issued statements saying they had agreed to sign an accord on 29 February in Doha, following the one-week partial truce.
"Our next steps on the peace process will depend on the evaluation of the week of the reduction in violence," Ghani, who this week secured a second term in office, said in a televised address. In a statement, the Taliban said warring parties would"create a suitable security situation" ahead of a deal signing.
The reduction of US forces"is very much tied to delivery on the commitments that have made," the US official told reporters. But another Taliban commander based in Kandahar, Hafiz Saeed Hedayat, said he had only been ordered to refrain from attacking major cities and highways. Taliban expert Rahimullah Yusufzai said the move signalled a change in thinking for both the Taliban and the US after years of fighting.
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Taliban-US truce countdown begins in bid to end 18-year conflict | Sky News AustraliaThe end of 18 years of war in Afghanistan could be in sight as the countdown to signing a peace agreement between the Taliban and the United States will begin today.\n\nUS secretary of state Mike Pompeo and the Taliban said seven days of a 'reduction of violence' was due to start at midnight.\n\nAfter that, a peace agreement between the warring sides will be signed on February 29 in Doha, Qatar, he said.\n\nMr Pompeo said the peace agreement will lead to an eventual permanent ceasefire but only if there is a significant and nationwide reduction in violence.\n\nThe deal will include guarantees from the Taliban that Afghanistan will not be used to attack the US or its allies.\n\n
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