US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has held a meeting in Doha with the Taliban's political deputy and chief negotiator, Mullah Baradar Akhund, to discuss the implementation of Washington's deal with the movement and the prisoner release, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed on Tuesday, adding that Pompeo reaffirmed that the US troop withdrawal would continue as agreed
KABUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th March, 2020) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has held a meeting in Doha with the Taliban's political deputy and chief negotiator, Mullah Baradar Akhund, to discuss the implementation of Washington's deal with the movement and the prisoner release, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed on Tuesday, adding that Pompeo reaffirmed that the US troop withdrawal would continue as agreed.
"Late yesterday afternoon, the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, accompanied by his delegation, held a lengthy meeting with the Political Deputy of the Islamic Emirate Mullah Baradar Akhund, accompanied by his delegation. The meeting, which took place in the capital of Qatar, Doha, centered around the implementation of the US-IEA [Taliban] agreement and the swift release of prisoners," Mujahid said in a statement.
He added that the participants of the talks had expressed the belief that the "rigid" implementation of the agreement would "pave the way for intra-Afghan negotiations along with enduring peace and ceasefire."
"Pompeo gave assurances that the US forces withdrawal will continue in accordance with the declared timetable," Mujahid went on to say.
The United States and the Taliban signed on February 29 the milestone agreement, meant to pave way for intra-Afghan talks and peace in the country. Under the deal, around 8,600 US troops out of the total 13,000 should leave Afghanistan within 135 days, and full withdrawal is expected in 14 months. Apart from that, the agreement stipulates that up to 5,000 members of the Taliban movement should be released from Afghan prisons.
