Taliban deal ‘promising’: Defence Secretary Mark Esper

US Defence Secretary Mark Esper says a truce agreement with the Taliban is not without risk but ‘looks very promising’.

Afghan refugees in camp in Peshawar. Pakistan is home to an estimated 2.4 million people who have fled Afghanistan. Picture: AFP

US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said on Sunday AEDT that a truce agreement between Washington and the Taliban that could lead to the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan is not without risk but “looks very promising”.

Ahead of a formal announcement of the seven-day “reduction in violence” deal, Mr Esper said it was time to give peace a chance in Afghanistan through a political negotiation. He spoke a day after a senior US official said the deal had been concluded and would take effect very soon.

Expectations are that agreement will be formally announced on Monday and the reduction in violence will begin on Tuesday, according to people familiar with the plan.

“So we have on the table right now a reduction in violence proposal that was negotiated between our ambassador and the Taliban,” Mr Esper said at the Munich Security Conference.

“It looks very promising. It’s my view as well that we have to give peace a chance, that the best if not the only way forward in Afghanistan is through a political agreement and that means taking some risk. That means enabling our diplomats and that means working together with our partners and allies on the ground to affect such a thing.”

Mr Esper and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met on Saturday in Munich with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who has been sceptical of the scheme, which, if successful, would see an end to ­attacks for seven days and then the signing of a US-Taliban peace deal. All-Afghan peace talks would then begin within 10 days as part of the plan, which envisions the phased withdrawal of US forces over 18 months. In remarks later, Mr Esper declined to say whether the US had agreed to cut its troop levels in Afghanistan to zero. He said if the seven-day truce was successful and the next step towards Afghan peace talks began, the US would reduce its troop contingent “over time” to about 8600. There are about 12,000 US troops in the country.

Dr Ghani also refused to comment on specifics of the plan but said the time had come “find a political solution to stop the war”. He said it was impossible to know whether the Taliban might take advantage of a draw-down in US military power in Afghanistan to reassert its their own presence, but the only way to find out was to “engage in the peace process”.

“The critical test is going to be: will the Taliban accept an election?” he said.

Dr Ghani rejected the idea that the Taliban could be granted greater influence in certain ­regions of Afghanistan, saying it was “antithetical to the Afghan ­vision because we are a unified country”. “The scope of the peace must be national. It cannot be sub-national because otherwise it will be a recipe for another round of conflict,” he said.

The US has not agreed to suspend or end its counter-terrorism operations in Afghanistan, which have been focused mainly on an Islamic State affiliate, known as ISIS-K, and al-Qa’ida, said Pentagon spokeswoman Alyssa Farah.

“Under any agreement, General Miller retains the authorities necessary to protect US national security interests, including the authorities and capabilities to strike ISIS-K and al-Qa’ida,” she said, referring to Scott Miller, the commander of US and coalition forces in Afghanistan.

The agreement was finalised last week by US special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban representatives in Doha.

Dr Ghani has bickered with his partner in the unity government, Abdullah Abdullah, over who will represent Kabul at the negotiating table. Dr Ghani has insisted he lead the talks, while his political opponents have called for more inclusive representation.

NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg told the conference he supported the plan but stressed that the alliance’s mission in Afghanistan would continue in the medium term. “We are not leaving Afghanistan but we are prepared to adjust our force level if the Taliban demonstrates the will and the capability to reduce violence and make real compromises that could pave the way for negotiations among Afghans for sustainable peace,” he said.

AP