US troops continue to withdraw from Afghanistan despite escalating violence

While the Taliban continue to attack soldiers and civilians in Afghanistan, the United States’ plan to withdraw troops from the war-ravaged nation is going according to schedule. According to reports, over the course of the last few weeks, the Afghan Taliban have continued their attacks, signalling their lack of interest in constructive intra-Afghan dialogues for peace and a possible cease-fire.

Read: Countering U.S. Allegations, Russia Denies Supplying Weapons To Afghanistan’s Taliban

Afghan govt believes Taliban to be insincere 

As per reports, the Trump administration signed a peace deal with the Taliban in February wherein they pledged to withdraw troops from war-torn Afghanistan and in exchange, the Taliban would stop sheltering foreign terrorist organisations. The Taliban’s side of the bargain is reportedly proceeding much less smoothly than the US withdrawal of troops.

Reports have indicated that violence by the Taliban has actually gone up, even crossing historically established norms since the signing of the peace deal. The Taliban have continued to target Afghan security forces as well as police convoys and outposts.

Read: Taliban Must Live Up To Its Commitments Made In Peace Deal With US: Pompeo

According to reports, one of the partners that Taliban routinely works with is the Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), undermining any peace efforts by the Afghan government. Moreover, the intra-Afghan talks that were supposed to start immediately after the signing of the peace deal have been stalled and not made progress.

According to the Afghan government, the Taliban have carried out 422 separate attacks in the month of June alone. The government believes that the Taliban are not serious about their commitments and will plan to seize power from the legitimate Afghan state once the United States pulls out the majority of its troops.

Read: Trump, Polish Counterpart Duda Discuss Sending US Troops To Poland From Germany

Read: NATO Chief Downplays Trump's Statement On Some Of US Troops Withdrawal From Germany

(Image Credit AP)