US, Afghanistan’s Taliban sign historic peace deal

A historic agreement was signed on Saturday between the United States and the Taliban, paving the way for the end of a 18-year conflict in Afghanistan.
The agreement, which was signed in Doha by US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban political chief Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as a witness, is a not a final peace deal.
The “Agreement for bringing peace” foresees that the US and NATO allies will withdraw all troops from Afghanistan’s territory within 14 months, and a prisoners swap, if militants uphold the deal.
Under the agreement, the Taliban agreed not to allow al-Qaeda or any other extremist group to operate in the areas they control.
Inter-Afgan negotiation talks are due to follow.
“We are working to finally end America’s longest war and bring our troops back home,” US President Donald Trump said on Saturday, speaking at the White House.
“I really believe the Taliban wants to do something to show we’re not all wasting time,” Trump said, adding that “If bad things happen, we’ll go back with a force like no-one’s ever seen.”
Earlier in February, the Taliban began a seven-day “reduction of violence” period, which was prerequisite to the peace deal signing.