The Taliban proposed a temporary ceasefire in Afghanistan to a U.S. envoy on Wednesday, according to reports.
The plan was delivered to U.S. negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad in Qatar, where the Taliban maintains a political office. The outline proposes a seven- to 10-day ceasefire.
Hussain Haqqani, the former ambassador of Pakistan to the United States, told the Washington Examiner the proposal likely is an attempt by a battle-weary Taliban to get a deal on their own terms.
“The proposed ceasefire is meant to move talks with Ambassador Khalilzad forward. They want the deal they initially proposed to go through without surrendering arms or giving up fighting on a permanent basis,” Haqqani told the Washington Examiner.
“The Taliban want the U.S. to leave Afghanistan so they can take it over. So far, the Taliban have not indicated that they are willing to accept the Afghan Constitution or commit to retaining any of the positive accomplishments of the last 17 years.”
The outline could be a first step toward a longer-lasting peace process, according to the Cato Institute’s Chris Preble. “The Bush administration made a grave error in categorically excluding the Taliban from the political process,” Preble told the Washington Examiner. “The war in Afghanistan cannot end without such a process, and the Taliban must have a seat at the table. We don’t have to like it. We just need to accept reality.”
Khalilzad has sought a ceasefire for some time. Talks with the Taliban floundered late last year and have not made significant progress since. The Trump administration aims to develop a road map that would allow the U.S. to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan after 18 years of conflict.
The Taliban’s violence against U.S. troops has not ceased despite Khalilzad’s negotiation attempts. On Saturday, Army Staff Sgt. Ian McLaughlin and Pfc. Miguel Villalon were killed when an improvised explosive device struck their vehicle in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province. American deaths in the country reached a five-year high in 2019, with 17 service members killed due to hostile actions.
The Taliban’s ceasefire proposal followed a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing Wednesday morning, when John Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, blasted the government’s failures in the country. He blamed U.S. alliances with corrupt Afghan warlords for helping the Taliban return to prominence.
