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Taliban Council Agrees to Cease-fire in Afghanistan

Associated Press

   KABUL - The Taliban's ruling council agreed Sunday to a temporary
   cease-fire in Afghanistan, providing a window in which a peace
   agreement with the United States can be signed, officials from the
   insurgent group said. They didn't say when it would begin.

   A cease-fire had been demanded by Washington before any peace agreement
   could be signed. A peace deal would allow the U.S. to bring home its
   troops from Afghanistan and end its 18-year military engagement there,
   America's longest.

   There was no immediate response from Washington.

   The U.S. wants any deal to include a promise from the Taliban that
   Afghanistan would not be used as a base by terrorist groups. The U.S.
   currently has an estimated 12,000 troops in Afghanistan.

   The Taliban chief must approve the cease-fire decision but that was
   expected. The duration of the cease-fire was not specified but it was
   suggested it would last for 10 days. It was also not specified when the
   cease-fire would begin.

   Four members of the Taliban negotiating team met for a week with the
   ruling council before they agreed on the brief cease-fire. The
   negotiating team returned Sunday to Qatar where the Taliban maintain
   their political office and where U.S. special peace envoy Zalmay
   Khalilzad has been holding peace talks with the religious militia since
   September 2018.

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