Though the contours of the US-Taliban agreement are yet to be spelt out, it is profoundly significant that the two sides will sign an agreement on 29 February, paving the way for a troop pullout and peace talks. Is this asking for the moon? Yet Friday night’s prologue is a swelling act of the geopolitical theme. A seven-day reduction of violence has begun, but Afghanistan being Afghanistan this might even turn out to be delusory.

If the statement of the US Secretary of State in Doha is any indication, the cessation of hostilities will hopefully lead to a peace agreement, which eventually will lead to what he calls a “permanent ceasefire”. Not many might readily concur with Mike Pompeo’s optimism; his hope is not wholly unrelated to Donald Trump’s prospects in the November election.

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Nonetheless, the scheduled signing of the agreement will of course register a critical measure of forward movement in a country where political instability and terror strikes are almost institutionalised. The goalposts cannot be faulted. Intra- Afghan negotiations will start soon after the deal is signed. The agreement is the fundamental step to yield a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire and the future political roadmap for Afghanistan.

Equally fundamental must be the fact that the Taliban remains an unpredictable quantity. The immediate response of the militant group has been fairly reassuring, clothed with the pledge that both sides will make arrangements for the release of prisoners, and “finally lay the groundwork for peace across the country with the withdrawal of all foreign forces”. Markedly, there is no joint statement, as the comity of nations would have expected.

Nonetheless, this is an important opportunity for the Taliban to demonstrate their seriousness for peace and end the suffering of the Afghan people. As much is clear from the response of the Taliban’s deputy leader, Sirajuddin Haqqani, who in the immediate aftermath of Friday’s developments has let it be known that his movement was prepared to make compromises at the negotiating table with Afghan government representatives, including the issue of women’s rights.

It is fervently to be hoped that the liberal winds blowing across the desert sands of Saudi Arabia will touch Afghanistan no less. Yet conundrums there will be. Though Ashraf Ghani was this week declared the winner of the presidential elections, the declaration was not accepted by his main political rival, Abdullah Abdullah. The Taliban does not recognise Ghani’s government and has said it will only talk to government officials if they attend talks as ordinary citizens. A week-long reduction in violence is a small concession in winter, in the wake of snowfall and before a spring offensive is expected to begin.