Deal nears in talks with US: Taliban

US and Taliban negotiators moved closer yesterday to a deal, the insurgent group said, as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo voiced guarded hope for a deal under which Washington will withdraw large numbers of troops from Afghanistan.

The optimism came during the fifth day of talks in Qatar between the two sides as negotiators wrangled over individual words and phrases in a draft deal. “We have progress in this round so we are finalising the remaining points,” Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen told journalists outside the upmarket Doha members’ club where the talks are taking place.

He said a deal could be expected “as soon as the remaining points are finalised”. The United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001 after the September 11 attacks, toppling the Taliban from power.