Some 14,000 US troops are based in Afghanistan as part of a US-led NATO mission to train, assist and advise Afghan forces. The hardline militant movement considers the Afghan government a puppet regime of the US and has refused direct talks. His appointment was widely seen as a fresh effort by the Taliban to emerge from the political and diplomatic shadows. Washington and its allies later sent troops to prevent the Taliban from returning in a war that escalated for a decade. Tens of thousands of members of the Afghan security forces and an unknown number of militants have also died.

Source: The Express Tribune February 26, 2019 13:18 UTC