Former US ambassador and facilitator of the US-Taliban deal in Doha, Zalmay Khalilzad, has once again called for the full implementation of the agreement. He retweeted a program broadcasted by the Taliban-run Afghanistan state TV, saying that it advocated for the same cause.
“#Afghanistan National TV, a state-owned (i.e.Taliban) station, broadcast a special program advocating the full implementation of the Doha Agreement as a path to overcome the current challenges faced by the country. And I agree,” Khalilzad said in a tweet on Monday.
The program, focused on implementation of the US-Taliban deal, was aired on Sunday night. Most of the commentators, particularly several Taliban ministers and the group’s Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, blame the United States for failing to keep up the commitments made in the agreement. Moreover, they are of the opinion that the Taliban have not violated the deal.
On the other hand, the United States have repeatedly accused the Taliban of violating the agreement.
In the agreement inked in February 2020, the Taliban has committed that it will cut ties with the terrorist groups, particularly by al-Qaida and the Islamic State, and will not allow Afghanistan soil be used to pose a threat to the United States security.
Late in July 2022, a US drone strike killed al-Qaida leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, while enjoying a lavish shelter in the heavily fortified downtown of Kabul’s Sherpoor neighbourhood.
Neither al-Qaida, nor the Taliban have officially announced that al-Zawahiri was killed in the attack.
