COMMITTED TO PEACE: TALIBAN IN POMPEO CALL

KABUL: The Taliban reaffirmed their commitment to a February deal to draw down the war in Afghanistan during a call with US secretary of state Mike Pompeo. The discussion came as President Donald Trump faces pressure to explain why he did nothing after being reportedly told Russian spies had offered and paid cash to Taliban-linked militants for killing US soldiers. The Taliban have denied that their fighters received any Russian bounties, and the group’s Qatar-based chief negotiator Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar reiterated their pledge not to strike against the US. Baradar told Pompeo that “according to the agreement, we do not allow anyone to use Afghan soil against the US and other countries”, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said on Monday on Twitter.