US mulls extension of troop deployment in Afghanistan

The Joe Biden administration is considering a six-month extension for US troops in Afghanistan contrary to the May 1 deadline that the previous Trump administration had negotiated with the Taliban to withdraw all US forces from the war-ravaged country, according to a defense official.

The Joe Biden administration is considering a six-month extension for US troops in Afghstan contrary to the May 1 deadline that the previous Trump administration had negotiated with the Taliban to withdraw all US forces from the war-ravaged country, according to a defense official.

According to a CNN report, on Friday, the Biden administration is considering a six-month extension for American troops in Afghstan, just weeks before the May 1 deadline that the Trump administration had negotiated with the Taliban to withdraw all US forces from the country, according to a defense official.No final decision has been made, the official emphasized.

Meanwhile, Taliban negotiator Suhail Shaheen in Moscow on Friday said that the peace negotiations in Doha should be expedited.

"It is important that the negotiations should be expedited because it will help us to achieve a permanent ceasefire and countrywide peace and this is our goal," He said during a press conference. "As we talked with Afghan politicians, they also insisted that the process should be expedited," Tolo News reported.

Shaheen said their aim is to achieve an "Islamic government" that will represent all Afghans.

But he added that "it is on Afghans that which type of a government they will establish" - as a result of peace negotiations.

Shaheen said that the US should withdraw its forces from Afghstan based on May 1 deadline.

"We had 18 months of negotiations with Americans, and they agreed that they will withdraw in 14 months," Shaheen said. "They should leave and if they don't leave by the end of April that means they continue the violation of the agreement. That violation will not be from our side, but it will be from their side."

According to the official statement of UNSC resolution 2513 (2020), "we do not support the restoration of the Islamic Emirate and we call on the government of the Islamic and the High Council for National Reconciliation to engage openly with their Taliban counterparts regarding a negotiated settlement," the statement read.

This also comes as representatives of Russia, China, the US and Pakistan in a joint statement said they would not support the return of the Islamic emirate system in Afghstan, Tolo News reported.

( With inputs from ANI )