Taliban signals peace deal with US will be signed by end of February

Taliban spokesman says agreement has been finalised

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  An Afghan man shows burnt iteams of his house after Sunday's attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. REUTERS

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  Security personnel (C) are seen among damaged buildings a day after a suicide attack followed by a gunfight against the office of Afghan former chief of intelligence and current candidate for first vice president of Ashraf Ghani, in Kabul, Afghanistan. According to reports, at least 20 people were killed and 50 others wounded in the incident which targeted the office of Amrullah Saleh. EPA

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  An Afghan child stands in his damaged room a day after a suicide attack followed by a gunfight against the office of Afghan former chief of intelligence and current candidate for first vice president of Ashraf Ghani, in Kabul, Afghanistan. According to reports, at least 20 people were killed and 50 others wounded in the incident which targeted the office of Amrullah Saleh. EPA

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  An Afghan boy looks on in a damaged house near the site of an attack in Kabul, a day after the deadly assault targeting a political campaign office. Deadly violence marred the start of Afghanistan's election season on the weekend, after President Ashraf Ghani insisted "peace is coming" to the war-torn nation. AFP

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  Afghan civilians watch damaged buildings in the aftermath of Sunday's attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. A complex attack against the office of the president's running mate and a former chief of intelligence service Amrullah Saleh on Sunday in the capital Kabul, killed scores of people, an official said on Monday. AP Photo

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  Residences are reflected in a mirror of a damaged barber shop after Sunday's attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. REUTER

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  Afghan security personnel stand guard at the site of an attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday. Afghan officials say the political offices of the president's running mate were hit by a large explosion and stormed by an unknown number of attackers. Nasrat Rahimi, the interior ministry spokesman, said vice-presidential candidate and former intelligence chief Amrullah Saleh survived the attack. AP Photo

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  U.S. troops assess the damage to an armoured vehicle of NATO-led military coalition after a suicide attack in Kandahar province, Afghanistan.REUTERS

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  U.S. soldiers patrol a street in central Kabul December 11, 2004. U.S. troops have begun a new offensive to hunt Taliban and al-Qaeda militants through the harsh Afghan winter, aiming to weaken their capabilities ahead of upcoming spring parliamentary elections. REUTERS

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  The US commander in Afghanistan John Nicholson (R) talks with soldiers ahead of a handover ceremony in Lashkar Gah, Helmand. AFP

A Taliban spokesman has told Afghan media that the peace deal with the US is finalised and will be signed by the end of February.

The agreement would be the prelude to ending America's longest war.

The US invaded Afghanistan in 2001 to topple the Taliban government, saying it allowed Al Qaeda to use the country as a base to plan and execute the September 11 attacks that killed 2,977 people and wounded more than 6,000.

After nearly 20 years of fighting, the US began secret talks with the Taliban in July 2018, leading to rounds of dialogue led by its special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad.

The process has stopped and started several times, stumbling over key issues such as a roadmap to withdrawing US and Nato troops from the country and the start of direct talks between Kabul and the Taliban.

The insurgents have refused direct talks with the Afghan government, which they say is illegitimate.

But Kabul has tried to build consensus on talks, holding large tribal legal assemblies called the loya jirga.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants to bring home US troops from Afghanistan. It was an often repeated line in his campaign speeches before the 2016 election.

At the Munich Security Conference last weekend, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani told a panel that his government was taking a practical approach to resolving the 18-year Afghan conflict.

"We are not going to solve this conflict on the basis of 'paper discussions'," Mr Ghani said.

He expressed doubts about the Taliban's intention, alluding to the "Trojan Horse strategy", but said that he needed to test the group's commitment.

Many in Kabul and government-controlled areas are concerned about a return of the Taliban if there were an eventual agreement.

Civil and women's rights campaigners are particularly concerned about the ultra-conservative religious group returning to government.

But US officials have said that so far the talks are aiming for an agreement on halting more bloodshed before the political elements are finalised.

“We have on the table right now a reduction in violence proposal that was negotiated between our ambassador and the Taliban," US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper said at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday. “It looks very promising.

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  Afghan refugee Hukam Khan speaks about the situation in his country at the Kabobayan refugee camp in Peshawar, Pakistan. He has been in Pakistan for 40 years after fleeing war in Afghanistan. AP Photo

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  Afghan refugee children at the Kabobayan refugee camp in Peshawar, north-west Pakistan. AP Photo

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  Afghan boys fight at the Kabobayan refugee camp. AP Photo

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  An Afghan refugee girl holds up a small banknote in the Kabobayan refugee camp. AP Photo

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  An Afghan refugee girl at the Kabobayan refugee camp. AP Photo

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  Afghan refugees at the Kabobayan refugee camp in Peshawar. AP Photo

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  Afghan schoolgirls leave their school in the Kabobayan refugee camp in Peshawar, Pakistan. AP Photo

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  UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, left, shakes hands with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi after a joint press conference at the foreign ministry in Islamabad, Pakistan. AP Photo

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  UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres listens to a reporter's question at the Pakistan Foreign Ministry in Islamabad. AP Photo

“It’s my view as well that we have to give peace a chance, that the best if not the only way forward in Afghanistan is through a political agreement and that means taking some risk.”

Afghan Chief Executive Dr Abdullah Abdullah confirmed on Monday that the US peace agreement with the Taliban would be signed "in coming days" and said Afghan security forces should reduce violence in a goodwill gesture.

The anticipated seven-day reduction in violence, the longest in the war, would be a test of Taliban cohesion.

If successful, it will be followed by the signing of a deal between the US and the Taliban that would reduce US troop contingent “over time” to about 8,600. There are about 12,000 US troops in the country.

For years there were questions in Washington about the Taliban political leadership's ability to corral their bands of fighters to follow a ceasefire.

In 2018, the government and Taliban agreed to a three-day ceasefire for the Eid holidays, the first such halt in fighting since 2001.

The agreement saw Taliban fighters on the streets of Kabul and other Afghan cities hugging and taking selfies with soldiers and police.

The brief pause has not been repeated but showed that the Taliban command was able to make their fighters adhere to the ceasefire, as there was a major reduction in violence.