Amid a spate of recent attacks across the war-torn country, the Taliban will commit to reducing violence in Afghanistan once a peace deal is signed with the US.
According to sources on Thursday, the reduction of violence will include a halt in conducting suicide attacks in major cities, and the group will also not block major highways, TOLO News reported.
Mawlana Jalaluddin Shinwari, a former group member said, “The Taliban said that they will not agree on a ceasefire; however, a partial agreement was reached about the reduction of violence and the final decision regarding the issue will be announced by the Taliban’s leader”.
“A reduction of violence would mean a halt to major attacks, and the Taliban will not try to take over districts and will avoid blocking major highways,” another former member said.
The sources further said, the US and the Taliban representatives will soon meet.
Last year, in September, Zalmay Khalilzad, Washington’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation had said that the US and Taliban are “at the threshold of an agreement” that would reduce violence and open the door for Afghans to sit together and negotiate.
On December 19, Khalilzad also said that the US and Taliban were approaching an important stage in the Afghan peace process.
In August, peace talks between Washington and the Taliban had to reach a deal on the withdrawal of thousands of American troops collapsed after President Trump cited an attack that killed a US soldier as his reason for pulling out of negotiations. The talks did not include the Afghan government.
The Taliban had never agreed to end their violent campaign against Afghan and foreign forces while negotiations were taking place. Sixteen US troops have been killed this year.
In 2001, US-led forces overthrew the Taliban government in Afghanistan because the militants had given safe haven to the Al-Qaeda network to plan the attacks on the US on September 11.
According to the statistics from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, 2018 was the deadliest year on record for the Afghan conflict, with a total of 10,993 civilian casualties, including 3,804 civilian deaths.