Peace held — violence declined by 80 per cent, a reduction that was acceptable for the two parties — and the signing ceremony was held in Doha, the capital of Qatar. That was the site of nearly two years of off-and-on negotiations between the Taliban and the United States. At the peak of the United States’ involvement it had 100,000 troops in the country. While the Afghan leader was questioning some parts of the deal, the United States Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, defended it in a TV interview. One sign of the agreement holding was that the level of violence remained low after the expiry of the seven-day peace set as a condition for signing the agreement.

Source: The Express Tribune March 09, 2020 04:41 UTC