US, Taliban scramble to rewrite draft on troop withdrawal

Islamabad: Taliban and US negotiators are scrambling to rewrite a draft agreement that will outline the withdrawal of American and NATO troops from Afghanistan as well as detail a verifiable Taliban guarantee to fight terrorism ahead of a summit Sunday in Qatar.

Officials familiar with the talks, but not authorized to speak about them, say negotiations went late into the night on



Wednesday and were to resume again on Thursday.

Suhail Shaheen, spokesman for the Taliban’s political office in Doha, earlier told The Associated Press that the draft was being rewritten to include agreed-upon clauses though it’s believed the two sides remain apart on troop withdrawal timetable with the United States seeking more time.