Moscow: The US has promised to withdraw half of its troops from Afghanistan by the end of April, a Taliban official Abdul Salam Hanafi said here Wednesday, but the US military said it has received no orders to begin packing up. Hanafi was speaking on the sidelines of a meeting here between the Taliban and other prominent Afghan figures.
“The Americans told us that from the beginning of February to the end of April, half of the troops from Afghanistan will be withdrawn,” said Hanafi.
Pentagon spokesman Army Col Rob Manning said, however, the US military had received orders to begin withdrawing.
“Peace talks with the Taliban continue, but (the Defence Department) has not received a directive to change the force structure in Afghanistan,” Manning stated.
Hanafi said the US and the Taliban will each create a technical committee that ‘will work on a timetable for the withdrawal of remaining troops’. The Pentagon has reportedly prepared plans to withdraw half its 14,000 troops by the summer.
Efforts to find a negotiated end to Afghanistan’s longest war have accelerated in recent months since the appointment last September of Zalmay Khalilzad as Washington’s peace envoy. He has held several meetings with the Taliban.
Talks have mostly focused on a US troop withdrawal and guarantees from the Taliban that Afghanistan would not again be used as a safe haven for terrorists to attack other countries, according to both Khalilzad and Taliban officials.
AP