RASC News Agency: Zalmay Khalilzad, the former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Peace, clarified that the classified sections of the Doha Agreement pertain to terrorism and the withdrawal of U.S. forces, rather than Afghanistan’s future governance. Speaking on Saturday, October 12, in a podcast released by “Doha Debates”, Khalilzad emphasized that these confidential provisions focus on counterterrorism efforts and the departure of foreign military forces from Afghanistan, dismissing speculation that they concern the country’s political future.
The United States signed the peace agreement with the Taliban on February 29, 2020, in Doha, Qatar, granting significant concessions to the Taliban. While certain aspects of the agreement have been made public, others remain classified. During the podcast, Khalilzad explained that throughout the negotiations, the U.S. was firm in its stance that the withdrawal of its troops should not be contingent upon a political agreement between the Taliban and the Afghanistan government, as Washington recognized the improbability of Afghanistani factions reaching a consensus.
He further elaborated that growing mistrust among the leadership of the former Afghanistan government contributed to diminishing U.S. confidence in them, which shifted American focus away from the former administration. Many Afghanistani analysts believe that the Doha Agreement paved the way for the Taliban’s eventual takeover of Afghanistan. These experts assert that, in line with the agreement, Afghanistan districts and provinces were gradually handed over to the Taliban.
Two years after the Doha Agreement was signed, the Taliban succeeded in capturing Afghanistan, establishing a mono-ethnic regime that now rules the nation.
