US-Taliban peace talks stuck over definition of violence

MorungExpress: The negotiations for an Afghanistan peace deal between the US and the Taliban are ensnarled over their disagreement on the definition of "reduction in violence".

A few weeks ago, the US and Taliban representatives resumed the stalled negotiations, which President Donald Trump had called off in September last year. The two sides have been holding closed-door parleys in Qatar to finalize the peace deal and gradual withdrawal of the US and NATO forces which launched a war against terror in Afghanistan 18 years ago.

Top officials told IANS that Washington has been feeling frustrated that even as the Taliban had offered to reduce attacks for up to ten days during the drawdown of the US forces from Afghanistan, violence remained high.

As per the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) data, 54 civilians, 32 security forces and 232 militants have been killed since the beginning of this year alone. Last year, 817 civilians, 728 security forces and 10634 militants were killed in the country.