A historic agreement between Taliban and America will be signed soon

The deputy leader of the Afghan Taliban said that the movement would soon sign an agreement with the United States to reduce violence for seven days, adding that the movement’s leaders were “fully committed” to respect the “historic” agreement.

"Today, we stand on the threshold of a peace agreement with the United States, it’s not a small achievement," wrote Serageldin Haqqani in an opinion piece in the New York Times, in the first important public statement by a prominent movement leader on the agreement to reduce violence for a week.

The initial agreement reached during negotiations between representatives of the United States and the Taliban may lead to the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan.

"Achieving the agreement with all its capabilities and ensuring its success and gaining a lasting peace will depend on the United States strictly respecting all its obligations," Haqqani, who also leads the Haqqani network that has links to Pakistan, added in the article.

Clashes continued between Afghan forces and Taliban militants, but the Afghan Interior Minister said on Tuesday that an agreement to reduce violence would be implemented within five days.

Haqqani mentioned the concerns about Afghanistan turning again to a haven for Islamic militants and said those concerns were “exaggerated”.