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US Troops Begin Withdrawal from Afghanistan, Ghani Signs a Decree to Release Taliban Prisoners

March 11, 2020

 

US soldiers in Afghanistan	Afghan government soldiers

 

US troop drawdown begins amid deepening Afghan politics crisis

Voice of America 11 Mar 2020, 11:35 GMT+10

ISLAMABAD -

Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani issued a decree late Tuesday setting in motion the process of releasing thousands of Taliban prisoners as the U.S. military begins a troop drawdown in the country - steps outlined in a deal with the Islamist insurgent group aimed at ending the nearly 19-year-old war.

The U.S.-Taliban agreement sealed in Qatar 10 days ago requires all American and coalition forces to leave the country in the next 14 months, subject to insurgent counterterrorism assurances and commitments the Taliban would seek a political reconciliation with other Afghan stakeholders.

"U.S. Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A) has begun its conditions-based reduction of forces to 8,600 over 135 days," said U.S. military spokesman Col. Sonny Leggett. There are about 13,000 troops stationed in the country.

Leggett underscored the drawdown would ensure the U.S. military retains necessary means and capabilities to provide support to Afghan security forces and conduct counterterrorism operations.

The crucial next step of opening peace negotiations between Afghan parties to the conflict requires the release of up to 5,000 insurgent prisoners from Afghan jails in exchange for 1,000 detainees, mostly government security forces, in Taliban custody.

"President Ghani has signed the decree that would facilitate the release of the Taliban prisoners in accordance with an accepted framework for the start of negotiation between the Taliban and the Afghan government," chief presidential spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said in a late night tweet.

The proposed intra-Afghan talks, originally scheduled for March 10 as stated in the U.S.-Taliban deal, could not take place due to reluctance by Ghani to allow the prisoner swap. That has been coupled with a deepening political crisis stemming from the long-running controversy over the legitimate winner of the contentious Afghan presidential vote.

The national election commission last month declared incumbent Ghani the winner of the disputed September 28 polls. But his main rival and governing partner in the outgoing government, Abdullah Abdullah, rejected the outcome as "fraudulent" and vowed to establish his own government.

On Monday, both Ghani and Abdullah took part in parallel swearing-in ceremonies, fueling the political crisis and posing a serious challenge to the U.S.-led peace initiative to end decades of hostilities in Afghanistan.

The divisions have raised questions about whether Afghan political forces and civil society would be able to form an inclusive team to engage in peace talks with the Taliban.

Monday's unprecedented political development is troubling for Washington and the rest of the international community, though most of the diplomatic missions in Kabul, including the U.S. embassy, attended Ghani's inauguration.

https://www.afghanistannews.net/news/264273248/us-troop-drawdown-begins-amid-deepening-afghan-political-crisis

Afghan President, Ghani, signs decree to release Taliban prisoners

ANI, 11 Mar 2020, 06:18 GMT+10

Kabul [Afghanistan], Mar 11 (ANI):

Afghan President, Ashraf Ghani, on Tuesday signed a much-awaited decree that would facilitate the release of the Taliban prisoners.

The release of prisoners was a part of a peace deal signed by the United States and the Taliban last month.

Making the announcement about the decree, Ghani's spokesperson Sediq Sediqqi on Tuesday said that details will be shared on Wednesday.

"President Ghani has signed the decree that would facilitate the release of the Taliban prisoners in accordance with an accepted framework for the start of negotiation between the Taliban and the Afghan government. Details of the decree will be shared tomorrow," tweeted Sediqqi.

This comes a day after Ghani took oath as the president of Afghanistan.

The president had previously rejected the Taliban demand for its fighters to be released.

The announcement will give an impetus to save the deal which witnessed the shakedown as the Taliban have launched several attacks on the Afghan forces.

On February 29, the United States and the Taliban had signed a long-awaited peace deal in Qatar that sets the beginning of talks for March 10, provided that up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners are released from jail by that time. (ANI)

https://www.afghanistannews.net/news/264271298/afghan-president-ghani-signs-decree-to-release-taliban-prisoners

Taliban says intra-Afghan talks unlikely to start on schedule

RFE 10 Mar 2020, 22:15 GMT+10

The Taliban says talks scheduled this week with Afghanistan's government are unlikely to take place on time because of plans by two rivals for the Afghan presidency to conduct parallel swearing-in ceremonies.

Since the United States signed a conditional peace agreement on February 29 with Taliban negotiators in Doha, Washington has been trying to push the Afghan government toward direct talks with the Taliban.

The so-called intra-Afghan talks are meant to bring together negotiators from the Taliban and the Afghan government as well as representatives from a cross section of Afghan society.

The Doha agreement calls for an exchange of prisoners to be completed before the start of the intra-Afghan dialogue on March 10.

But Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid says he doesn't think officials in Kabul will complete the prisoner exchange in time because of a disagreement between Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his main rival in the September 2019 presidential election, Afghan Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah.

In February, after months of delay, Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission announced that Ghani had been reelected with just over 50 percent of the first-round vote.

Afghan election officials said Abdullah finished in second place with just over 39 percent of the vote.

But Abdullah, alleging widespread fraud during the vote count, insists that he won the election and has vowed to form his own government.

Both Ghani and Abdullah have issued invitations to parallel swearing-in ceremonies on March 9.

'Instead of swearing in, we want them to focus on intra-Afghan talks," Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman, told Reuters on March 8. "We call upon them to leave the internal disagreements, stop the swearing in, and work for peace.'

Mujahid said no practical steps have been taken by Kabul for the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners held in Afghan jails.

Ghani has publicly rejected the proposed release of the Taliban prisoners, despite pressure from Washington and the Taliban's promise to reciprocate by releasing 1,000 Afghan troops and civilian government employees it has detained.

Nevertheless, Mujahid said meetings between prison keepers from both sides took place in Doha on March 7-8.

Those meetings were the first known official formal contacts between the Afghan government and the Taliban since the conditional peace deal was signed by the Taliban and Washington.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan

https://www.afghanistannews.net/news/264266982/taliban-says-intra-afghan-talks-unlikely-to-start-on-schedule

Afghanistan swears in two presidents: Ghani and Abdullah

Voice of America 09 Mar 2020, 22:05 GMT+10

Afghanistan's president-elect Ashraf Ghani and his election rival, runner-up Abdullah Abdullah, took part in parallel swearing-in ceremonies Monday, fueling political tensions and posing a fresh challenge to U.S.-led peace efforts.

Both ceremonies were initially delayed, apparently to allow for hectic U.S. diplomacy to resolve the crisis. However, after several hours the inaugurations began.

Ghani was the first to take the oath, in a ceremony shown live, where among other foreign guests were U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and U.S. commander of international forces Scott Miller.

Abdullah also was sworn in in a ceremony in his office, with both cermonies broadcast live by all afghan televeisoin stations, some showing the two on split screens.

The Afghan election commission late last month declared incumbent Ghani the winner of the bitterly contested September 28 presidential election.

But Abdullah, the incumbent chief executive, rejected the outcome as fraudulent, claiming that he and his team had won the vote and threatened to form his own government.

Monday Abdullah tweeted his determination to move forward: "No one should have underestimated our commitment to genuine democracy & our resolve to uphold rule of law. Our track record of self-denial & compromise should not have given cause to anyone to take us for granted. Invalidation of all fraudulent votes is the way out!"

Ghani and Abdullah both have come under sharp criticism from Afghan politicians and public who have taken to social media to express their outrage. "

This mockery of a dignified and brutalized nation by a handful is weakening Afghanistan," tweeted Hekmat Khalil Karzai, former Afghan deputy foreign minister."

Their actions are an insult to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice defending our nation. Afghanistan needs to be shielded from those responsible for this tragic comedy," lamented Karzai, currently chairman of the Center for Conflict and Peace Studies (CAPS) in Kabul.

The political turmoil poses a serious challenge to a landmark deal the United States signed with the Taliban insurgency a week ago to help bring stability to Afghanistan.

The agreement signed February 29 in Qatar requires the Taliban to open negotiations with an inclusive Afghan delegation of political forces and civil society, and negotiate a permanent cease-fire.

The intra-Afghan talks are to begin Tuesday, but the inauguration crisis, analysts say, is likely to hamper efforts aimed at forming a united Afghan delegation to engage in talks with the Taliban.

Both Ghani and his traditional rival Abdullah also had claimed victories in the 2014 fraud-marred presidential election, leading to months of political chaos in the country.

Washington's intervention at the time had settled the dispute under a deal that allowed Ghani to become the president and Abdullah to head a newly formed office of the chief executive of the outgoing so-called national unity government of Afghanistan that was plagued by deep political rivalries and controversies throughout its tenure.

https://www.afghanistannews.net/news/264257353/afghanistan-swears-in-two-presidents

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