A draft agreement with the US side to end 17 years of conflict in Afghanistan has been drafted in the fourth round of negotiations that ended in Doha today, Reuters quoted Taliban officials as saying.
The draft agreement with US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad calls for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan within 18 months, officials said.
The draft also guarantees that al Qaeda and the Islamic state will not use Afghanistan as a base for terrorism.
Taliban officials confirmed that a timetable for a ceasefire in Afghanistan would soon be completed.
The US special envoy will travel to the Afghan capital of Kabul to inform President Ghani of the progress made after the six-day discussions ended.
In this context, Al-Jazeera correspondent reported that the head of the Afghan intelligence service is heading to Doha to pursue negotiations between Washington and the Taliban.
The New York Times reported earlier that the appointment of Mullah Abdul Ghani Pradar, chief negotiator of the Taliban is a strong indication that the Afghan peace talks are serious this time, adding that his appointment could help to reach practical results in the Doha talks.
The Taliban announced in a statement yesterday the appointment of Pradar as a deputy leader of the Movement for Political Affairs and supervisor of the Political Bureau of the movement in Doha and a senior negotiator.
Al-Jazeera quoted the Taliban source as saying that if a timetable for withdrawing from Afghanistan was set, the movement would announce a ceasefire.
The source added that the US envoy to Afghanistan urged the Taliban to sit down with the Afghan government to negotiate after determining the timetable for withdrawal and cease-fire in the country.
Negotiations began last Monday in Doha according to the agenda agreed at the last meeting between the Taliban and the Americans last month, and was scheduled to last only two days.