US president-elect Joe Biden is likely to seek more concessions from the Afghan Taliban in a move that may put added pressure on Pakistan, which has played a central role in brokering the peace deal between the Trump administration and the insurgents. The sense these officials got from the interactions is that the Biden administration, unlike Trump, may review the February 29 US-Taliban deal by seeking more concessions from the Taliban. "The Trump administration might have got concessions it wanted but Biden would want to seek more concessions," said a senior Pakistani official involved in the process. The reason for this is that Pakistan has been instrumental in first brokering the talks between the Afghan Taliban and the US leading to the intra-Afghan talks. “One thing is clear that Pakistan would remain in the spotlight when it comes to the Afghan endgame,” he added.

Source: The Express Tribune November 22, 2020 20:48 UTC