According to Pakistan digital news source Dawn and AFP, the Taliban and Afghanistan continued to work toward a ceasefire of the nearly two-decade conflict between US/Afghan forces and insurgents. The talks continued for the first half of March 2019.
The Taliban have continued to issue press statements in which they have denied that ceasefire is part of those negotiations. Many believe that the Taliban leaders are appeasing their constituents, so as not to appear weak or capitulating.
The US stated disagreed, reporting that the Taliban leaders had discussed ceasefire. A spokesman for the Taliban stated that their focus was withdrawal of foreign troops and Afghanistan not permitting that country to be a staging operation for other military operations.
The US State Department spokesman Robert Palladino stated that such withdrawal was not the primary issue to be agreed to, but rather for interconnected conditions. These conditions were terrorism, eventual troop withdrawal, ceasefire and dialogue between Afghani factions. He stated, contrary to the Taliban’s official position, that some progress was being made.
At our law firm, we continue to monitor Afghan developments, so that we can be well-versed in the concerns of our injured civilian contractors, to know the nature and extent of this ongoing military conflict.