United States–Taliban deal

The agreement stipulated fighting restrictions for both the US and the Taliban, and provided for the withdrawal of all NATO forces from Afghanistan in return for the Taliban's counter-terrorism commitments. The US agreed to an initial reduction of its force level from 13,000 to 8,600 within 135 days (i.e. by July 2020), followed by a full withdrawal within 14 months (i.e. by 1 May 2021) if the Taliban kept its commitments. The United States also committed to closing five military bases within 135 days, and expressed its intent to end economic sanctions on the Taliban by August 27, 2020. The agreement was welcomed by Pakistan, China, Russia and India,^[4][7][8] and unanimously endorsed by the UN Security Council.^[9]


Insurgent attacks against the Afghan security forces, however, surged in the aftermath of the deal, with thousands killed. However, withdrawals per the agreement continued. By January 2021, just 2,500 US troops remained in the country, and NATO forces fully evacuated by the end of that summer. The US completed its full evacuation on August 30, 2021, as the Taliban took control of the country by force.


Critics of the deal claimed that the then Trump administration was to appease the Taliban and ignore the then Afghan government for the quick withdrawal from Afghanistan.^[10]

Intra-Afghan dialogue and negotiations[edit]

The US–Taliban deal called for intra-Afghan dialogue and negotiations for “a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire” to start on March 10. The Afghan government was not a party to the US–Taliban deal, and on March 1 Afghan President Ashraf Ghani rejected a prisoner exchange, saying: "The government of Afghanistan has made no commitment to free 5,000 Taliban prisoners. [...] The release of prisoners is not the United States authority, but it is the authority of the government of Afghanistan."^[18][19][20] Ghani also stated that any prisoner exchange "cannot be a prerequisite for talks," but must be a part of the negotiations.^[21] On March 2, a Taliban spokesperson stated that they were "fully ready" for the intra-Afghan talks, but that there would be no talks if about 5,000 of their prisoners were not released. He also said that the agreed-upon period of reduction in violence was over and that operations against Afghan government forces could resume.^[22]


Nevertheless, the negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban for release of prisoners began as planned on March 10, 2020. However, on the same day, Ghani also signed a decree for the release of 1,500 Taliban prisoners on March 14, but only if they agreed to sign pledges guaranteeing they will not return to battle.^[23] The same day, the US started withdrawing some troops.^[24] Despite the fact that the terms of the peace agreement also received unanimous backing from the UN Security Council,^[25] sources close to the Taliban, including Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen, afterward announced that the group had rejected Ghani's prisoner swap decree and still insisted on the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners.^[26][27][28] On March 14, 2020, Javid Faisal, a spokesman for the National Security Council, announced that Ghani had delayed the release of Taliban prisoners, citing a need to review the list of prisoners, thus endangering the peace agreement between the US government and the Taliban.^[29]


On March 27, 2020, the Afghan government announced the formation of a 21-member negotiation team for the peace talks. However, on March 29 the Taliban rejected the team, stating that "we shall only sit for talks with a negotiation team that conforms with our agreements and is constituted in accordance with the laid out principles."^[30] On March 31, 2020, a three-person Taliban delegation arrived in Kabul to discuss the release of prisoners.^[31][32] They were the first Taliban representatives to visit Kabul since 2001.^[31] The Afghan government had also previously agreed to hold the talks in Bagram Prison.^[31] The same day, however, the Afghan government announced that the Taliban's refusal to agree to another ceasefire and the Taliban delegation's refusal to show up at the prison at the scheduled time both resulted in the postponement of the prisoner swap.^[33][34][35] Following the arrival of the Taliban delegation, a senior Afghan government official told Reuters "the prisoner release might go ahead in a few days if everything goes as planned."^[32]


On March 31, 2020, the UN Security Council urged all warring parties to declare a ceasefire in order for the peace process to progress further.^[36] On April 1, 2020, it was revealed that both the Taliban and Afghan government did in fact hold face-to-face talks in Kabul the previous day, unlike the previous video conference talks, and that they were overseen by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).^[37] However, Afghanistan's Office of the National Security Council stated that the only progress made so far was "on technical matters" and Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid afterward stated, "There will be no political talks there."^[37] Outside the talks, tensions between the Afghan government and Taliban also showed when Afghan authorities blamed the Taliban for a April 1, 2020 explosion which killed several children in Helmand.^[37] On the second day of negotiations, it was agreed that on April 2, 2020, up to 100 Taliban prisoners would be released in exchange for 20 Afghan military personnel^[38]


On April 7, 2020, the Taliban walked out of the prisoner swap talks, which Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen described as "fruitless."^[39][40] Shaheen also stated in a tweet that hours after walking out of the talks, the Taliban's negotiating team was recalled from Kabul.^[40] The Taliban also failed to secure the release of any of the 15 commanders they sought to be released.^[39] Arguments over which prisoners to swap also resulted in a delay of the planned prisoner swap.^[39] The next day, Faisal maintained that only 100 Taliban prisoners would be released.^[40] Faisal later stated that the 100 prisoners, who were incarcerated at Bagram, were released.^[41] The Taliban refused to verify these releases, in part due to the fact that the Taliban's withdrawal from Kabul prevented its "technical team" from making verifications of the prisoner identities.^[41] As the Afghan government solely determined which prisoners were released, it also could not be confirmed if any of the prisoners released were on the Taliban's list of preferred names.^[41]


On May 17, 2020, Ghani signed a power-sharing deal with his rival Abdullah Abdullah which ended the long-running dispute over the results of the 2019 Afghan presidential elections, and assigned responsibility for peace negotiations to Abdullah.^[42]


By August 2020, the Afghan government released 5,100 prisoners,^[43] and the Taliban released 1,000.^[44] However, the Afghan government refused to release 400 prisoners from the list of those the Taliban wanted released, because those 400 were accused of serious crimes.^[45] Ghani stated that he did not have the constitutional authority to release these prisoners, so he convened a loya jirga from August 7 to 9 to discuss the issue.^[46] The jirga agreed to free the 400 remaining prisoners.^[45]


On August 14, 2020, one of the 21 members of the Afghan negotiating team, Fawzia Koofi, and her sister Maryam Koofi were attacked by gunmen near Kabul. Fawzia Koofi is a prominent human rights activist in Afghanistan, who has been vocal in denouncing the Taliban.^[47]


Taliban officials accused the Afghan government of intentionally postponing the release of 100 Taliban detainees in order to hamper the negotiations. The Afghan government denied the claims, insisting that all Taliban prisoners had been freed.


By September 2020, the Afghan government had freed about 5,000 Taliban prisoners after a request from the Trump administration. A government mediation team remained on standby to travel to Doha for talks with the Taliban, but delays persisted.^[48]