Shahabuddin Delawar, a member of the Taliban’s negotiating team, has claimed that U.S. officials sought to retain a military base in Afghanistan during the Doha peace negotiations, but the Taliban rejected the request.
According to Delawar, Zalmay Khalilzad warned at the time that if the United States withdrew its forces from Afghanistan, the country could face instability and the risk of fragmentation similar to Syria. Delawar further alleged that Khalilzad said figures such as General Abdul Rashid Dostum and Atta Mohammad Noor were under U.S. influence and that the situation would spiral out of control following the withdrawal of American troops.
Speaking at a gathering in Kabul on Saturday, Delawar said that after the withdrawal of U.S. forces, the Taliban brought Afghanistan’s security situation under control and remained committed to the Doha Agreement.
He also dismissed reports claiming that the Doha Agreement contained secret annexes, stating that the only annex concerned ensuring the safe movement and deployment of U.S. forces without Taliban attacks. According to Delawar, following the signing of the agreement, the Taliban did not carry out any attacks against U.S. forces, and no American soldiers were killed.
His remarks come despite Zalmay Khalilzad having previously acknowledged the existence of certain annexes to the Doha Agreement, although he did not disclose their contents.
Notably, after the signing of the 2020 Doha Agreement, direct hostilities between the Taliban and foreign forces largely ceased. However, fighting between the Taliban and the then-Afghan security forces intensified during the same period, with reports documenting heavy casualties among Afghan government forces.
Delawar’s comments come as U.S. President Donald Trump has, in several recent speeches, repeatedly referred to the possibility of a renewed U.S. presence in Afghanistan and the potential reuse of Bagram Air Base.
Writer:Saeed Sameer
