Now that #Afghanistan peace negotiations have officially begun (after rules/procedures agreement), I'm seeing lots of calls for a comprehensive ceasefire. Worth recalling what the US- #Taliban agreement says about that. 1/n

Specifically: "A permanent & comprehensive ceasefire will be an item on the agenda of the intra-Afghan dialogue & negotiations. The participants of intra-Afghan negotiations will discuss the date & modalities of a permanent & comprehensive ceasefire..." 2/n

"...including joint implementation mechanisms, which will be announced **along with the completion and agreement over the future political roadmap of Afghanistan.**" (emphasis added) 3/n

https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Agreement-For-Bringing-Peace-to-Afghanistan-02.29.20.pdf

While some would say that this latter (emphasized) clause isn't something that #Afghanistan's govt agreed to, it nonetheless showcases the #Taliban's position: no comprehensive ceasefire until a future political roadmap is identified and agreed upon. 4/n

Given that this is likely to take some time, I might suggest a shift in demands to a series of limited ceasefires (ideally of increasing scope/duration) as both relief to the suffering people of #Afghanistan & as further confidence building measures between the two sides. 5/5