US and Taliban discuss pause in airstrikes to spur peace talks

American and Taliban negotiators are discussing a pause in U.S. airstrikes and drone flights in Afghanistan in order to revive stalled peace talks, Stars and Stripes reported Wednesday.

According to Stripes, a temporary bombing halt is one of several ideas Biden administration officials are discussing if Taliban militants agree to sharply reduce attacks and assassinations ahead of high-level peace talks planned for early next month in Istanbul.

But the idea remains a concept on paper only, dependent on steps by the Taliban to reduce violence first, several U.S. officials told Stripes.

A halt to U.S. air operations worries the Afghan government and its military, which still relies on U.S. airstrikes and aerial surveillance video from drones to help hold back the Taliban.

The move has also caused alarm among some in the Pentagon who are skeptical that concessions to the Taliban will make the militants more likely to make peace with the Afghan government, Stripes reported.

This comes ahead of the May 1 troop withdrawal deadline in accordance with the US-Taliban deal signed in February last year by former President Donald Trump’s administration.

However, the deal has been under review for the past few weeks but no decision has yet been made.

In an interview with NBC earlier this month, President Joe Biden signaled that a withdrawal by May 1 would be “tough” for U.S. troops.

He added, though, that if the deadline for the U.S. exit was extended, it would not be by “a lot longer.”

Stripes report that among the options being considered, one approach is for a 48-hour halt in U.S. military air operations after the Taliban reduces attacks, a sequencing meant to demonstrate to the group’s leadership that the U.S. is open to military concessions if Taliban fighters reduce their attacks, according to officials involved in the deliberations.

If that initial reduction in violence holds, the bombing pause could be extended.

Stripes also reported that better security across Afghanistan, in turn, is seen by U.S. officials as a prerequisite to getting Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to pursue serious talks with the Taliban on a lasting cease-fire and on forming a transitional government.