WASHINGTON: The Taliban signed a peace pact with American negotiators in Doha, Qatar, but according to the US, they are no longer capable of carrying out their promises.
The presence of Al Qaeda commander Ayman al Zawahiri in Kabul “reinforces the impression that the Taliban previously has not been willing or able to comply with the obligations it’s made to its own people,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said at a Tuesday afternoon news briefing in Washington.
To put an end to the 2001–2021 conflict in Afghanistan, the US and the Taliban signed a peace accord in Doha, Qatar, in February 2020.
On August 15, 2021, US forces were finally withdrawn from Afghanistan as a result of the agreement.
“Of course, that has figured into our thinking,” Mr. Price added, “the reality the senior figures of the Haqqani Taliban Network was witting off Ayman al Zawahiri’s presence in Kabul and actively harboured him.” “We’re still thinking about the consequences of that.”
A journalist brought up the fact that US Special Representative for Afghanistan Tom West met with a Taliban delegation in Tashkent on July 27 during the State Department briefing.However, the US was well aware that Zawahiri was residing in Kabul under the Taliban’s protection at the time.According to Mr. Price, that was the last time the United States and the Taliban had direct contact.
