US makes new terms for violence reduction in Afghanistan

Kabul, Feb 7 (IANS) As the US-Taliban peace talks continue in Doha, Washington has made several new demands over the reduction in violence plan, informed sources have said.

One of the demands is that the reduction in violence should be long-term, TOLO News quoted the sources as saying on Thursday.

Mujib Rahimi, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah's spokesman, said that the US special envoy for Afghan peace, Zalmay Khalilzad, during his recent trip to Kabul said he had submitted proposals to the Taliban to extend the duration of the reduction in violence.

"Khalilzad was hopeful during his trip and thought the Taliban were ready for more serious discussions, and that the Taliban's plans were at an unacceptable level to (the US side) in terms of reducing violence. (Khalilzad said) we have put forward more conditions and are waiting for the Taliban to respond," said Rahimi.

Meanwhile, some former members of the Taliban group said at a meeting here on Thursday that the US and the Taliban were close to signing a peace agreement and that reducing violence is an "unofficial ceasefire",

"A reduction in violence is an 'informal ceasefire', and we call on the government to reduce violence too," said Sayed Mohammad Akbar Agha, the former leader of the Taliban's Jaish-al-Muslimeen (Army of Muslims).

"The peace agreement will be signed, and these problems ahead of peace process will not prevent the agreement from being signed," said Mawlawi Qalamuddin, a member of the former Taliban regime.