At a press briefing on Wednesday, Ned Price, the spokesperson for the US State Department, accused the Taliban of violating the Doha agreement by sheltering Ayman al-Zawahiri, the former leader of al-Qaeda who was killed in a US drone strike in Kabul on 31 July 2022.
Price also stated that the group had not fulfilled its commitment to “engage in political dialogue for a negotiated settlement” to the Afghan conflict.
On the other hand, the Taliban has repeatedly accused the US of not adhering to the Doha Deal.
Speaking at a large gathering to celebrate the 3rd anniversary of the Doha Deal, the Taliban deputy prime minister, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, said the US was not allowing the world to engage with the group’s government and had illegally frozen the country’s assets.
Ned Price said that “We shouldn’t forget that the Doha Agreement envisioned a peaceful settlement, not a takeover on the part of the Taliban.” The title of the agreement, Price said, was clear of what it meant: An “Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan”
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The former US diplomate who negotiated and signed the agreement on behalf of the US, Zalmay Khalilzad said that the Doha agreement required the Taliban to negotiate with the “Afghan sides” not just the previous government.
According to Price, for the US’s position was that “The Taliban also have not fulfilled their Doha commitment to engage in political dialogue leading to a negotiated settlement. That remains to be done.”
