The Afghan government has thrown a wrench in the United States' plan to negotiate peace with the Taliban.

The US signed an agreement with the Taliban on 29 Feb, which hopes to end the US-Taliban war in Afghanistan that’s gone on for nearly 20 years now. 

 

But the peace agreement, which the US and Taliban entered on 29 Feb, has already hit a roadblock, from none other than the Afghan government.

 

According to the deal, the US would remove its troops from Afghanistan and The Taliban was supposed to cut ties with Al-Qaeda and other terror outfits, which have terrorised Afghanistan and other countries for nearly two decades. 

 

The Afghan government, which wasn’t a part of this deal, was also SUPPOSED to release 5,000 taliban prisoners in exchange for around a 1,000 prisoners held by the militant outfit….

 

But barely 24 hours after the deal was signed with the world watching…..Afghanistan said it WOULDN’T release the prisoners as per the deal.

In response, the Taliban said they will resume ops against Afghan forces.

 

So what happens now? Will the US-Taliban agreement work? And what is the history of the conflict in Afghanistan over the past forty years?

 

Let’s find out.

Donald Trump, US President

Mike Pompeo, US Secretary of State

Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister 

Ashok Sajjanhar, Former Indian Ambassador

Host and Producer: Vishnu Gopinath

Editor: Shelly Walia