Several senior officials of the Afghan government expressed, Saturday, January 23, their relief at the desire of the administration of Joe Biden to review the US-Taliban agreement, the insurgents having only intensified their attacks in recent months.

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan called his Afghan counterpart Hamdullah Mohib on Friday and "made clear" his intention to "reconsider" the deal, his spokeswoman Emily Horne said in a statement.

The agreement - not ratified by Kabul - provides for the total withdrawal of American forces by mid-2021, in particular in exchange for security guarantees from the insurgents and the opening of peace talks with the Afghan government.

But, despite the opening of these negotiations in September in Doha, the Taliban have only increased the number of their attacks.

In his appeal, Jake Sullivan said he planned to "assess whether the Taliban honor their commitments to sever all ties with terrorist groups, reduce violence in Afghanistan and conduct serious negotiations with the Afghan government."

He also stressed the US intention to support the ongoing peace talks "with robust diplomatic efforts at the regional level."

Daily attacks

Acting Afghan Minister of Peace Abdullah Khenjani said he was satisfied with the announcement.

In a video sent to reporters, he demanded that "the review (of the agreement) lead to the immediate end to the violence demanded by the Afghan people as well as to lasting peace in Afghanistan."

While negotiations between Kabul and the Taliban have so far yielded no concrete results, insurgents continue to attack Afghan forces on a daily basis.

In cities, targeted killings of journalists, politicians and rights defenders - which Kabul and Washington blamed on the Taliban - have become more frequent.

While they readily claim their attacks on Afghan forces, the insurgents deny being responsible for the targeted assassinations of members of civil society.

Contacted by AFP, they said they were still determined to respect their commitments under the agreement signed with Washington.

"We expect the other side to also remain committed to honoring the deal," said Mohammad Naeem, a spokesperson for the group.

The insurgents have, since the signing of this agreement, ceased their offensive against American forces.

"Preserving progress"

Afghan authorities, who were anxiously waiting to see how Joe Biden's administration fared on the case, greeted Jake Sullivan's comments with relief.

"We agreed to continue to work for a permanent ceasefire and a just and lasting peace, in a democratic Afghanistan, capable of preserving the gains of the last two decades," Hamdullah Mohib wrote on Twitter following the call from the American official.

In my phone call with my US counterpart @jakejsullivan, I reaffirmed that Afghanistan remains committed to our foundational partnership with the United States and we will work closely together on security, peace, counter-terrorism and regional engagement.

- Hamdullah Mohib (@hmohib) January 23, 2021

Sediq Sediqqi, the vice-minister of the interior, took the opportunity to criticize the US-Taliban agreement.

"The agreement has so far failed to achieve the desired goal of ending Taliban violence and bringing about a ceasefire," he wrote on Twitter.

"The Taliban have failed to live up to their commitments."

On Tuesday, the future head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, also considered it essential to "preserve the advances that have been made for women and girls in Afghanistan over the past 20 years".

Washington announced on January 15 - a few days before Donald Trump left the White House - that it had reduced the number of its troops in Afghanistan to 2,500, the lowest number since 2001.

With AFP

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