Amidst growing violence, Taliban and U.S. representatives discuss the terms of their agreement

Despite the ongoing peace negotiations between the Taliban and the Kabul-led government, there has been a surge of violence in Afghanistan, all of which culminated in repeated attacks on Afghan National Army officials and civilians - for which the Taliban have persistently failed to take responsibility.

In a tweet from Dr. Mohammad Naeem, Spokesperson for the Political Office of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, it was revealed that a meeting was held yesterday between Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, one of the key leadership figures in the Taliban, and the United States' Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, also accompanied by General Austin Miller, the Commander of the NATO's Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan.

The implementation of "the whole articles of the agreement signed between the IEA and the U.S." were discussed during this meeting, including the release of any remaining prisoners, the termination of the blacklist, but more importantly the causes behind the incremental violence and strife in the country.

Yesterday, the United States confirmed the death of Muhsin al-Masri, a high ranking Al-Qaeda official in Afghanistan, in the wake of a horrific suicide bombing at an education center in Kabul on Saturday, as a result of which 18 people were killed and at least 50 injured in the process - many of whom belonged to the country’s minority Shia community, indicative of the strong undercurrents of sectarian violence amidst this surge in violence.

The peace deal between the United States and the Taliban, and the negotiations with the Kabul-led government, have been fraught with obstacles - as all stakeholders have been unable to cease violence, or to fully meet the conditional requirements of the peace deal itself. The deal, if successful, would see all foreign forces leave the country by May 2021, in exchange for counterterrorism guarantees from the Taliban and a mutually-acceptable power sharing agreement with the government.