Taliban says US withdrawal from Afghanistan is focus of next talks

Upcoming talks between the Taliban and the US will focus on the timetable for pulling all foreign forces out of Afghanistan, the movement’s political spokesman Suhail Shaheen has said. Previous negotiations with Washington saw the two sides agree to a total withdrawal, with only the details needing to be fleshed out, Shaheen told AFP. “In our last round of talks with the US side, we agreed with them on withdrawal of all foreign forces from Afghanistan,” he said in Doha. In return for a withdrawal, the Taliban have committed to preventing terror groups using Afghanistan as a safe haven or for launching attacks on other countries, according to the spokesman.