Afghans greet US-Taliban deal with unease and optimism

Afghan women 'should not worry about their rights,' says Taliban spokesperson

KABUL: Afghans expressed unease and cautious hope about a historic deal signed on Saturday that aims to have all foreign forces leave Afghanistan within 14 months in exchange for Taliban guarantees, with many people doubting the insurgents' intentions.

The agreement inked in Doha sets out a timetable to end America's longest war, which has cost tens of thousands of lives, in return for a commitment by the Taliban to refuse sanctuary to militants groups such as Al qaeda and hold negotiations with the Kabul government.

War-scarred Afghans have long sought an end to the onslaught of bombings and airstrikes over the past 18 years, but as the accord was signed many said they feared what comes next.

"I believe the Americans have been stranded here and with this deal they are looking for a way to flee the country," Kabul shopkeeper Najeeb Haleemi told AFP.

"I am pessimistic about the deal and worried about what will happen after," the 50-year-old added, echoing concerns expressed by others in the country.

Fellow shopkeeper Husain Ahmad said that while Afghans were "hungry for peace", the agreement represented a victory for the insurgents whose stint in power from 1996 to 2001 saw the imposition of strict sharia law and confined women to their homes.

The Taliban have since paid lip service to human rights, but always in line with what they say are Islamic values, sparking fear of a return to their brutal rule that included public executions and floggings.

"We as Afghans don't know what the contents of the deal are," Ahmad said, criticising the decision to shut out the Kabul government from the negotiations in Doha.

Immediately after the deal was signed, Taliban political spokesperson Suhail Shaheen told AFP that Afghan women "should not worry about their rights".

"We accept their rights and acknowledge their right to education and to work," Shaheen said.

"We also request them as Muslim women to observe the Islamic hijab, only that."

But activist Zahra Hussaini said she had no faith in such claims.

"I don't trust the Taliban, and remember how they suppressed women when they were ruling," the 28-year-old told AFP in Kabul.

"Today is a dark day, and as I was watching the deal being signed, I had this bad feeling that it would result in their return to power rather than in peace," she said.

Elsewhere in the country however, some were celebrating the end of the war and expressing hope that it would unite the country.

"We are very optimistic about this deal, and are impatiently waiting for the foreign invaders to leave Afghanistan," said Arefullah Saad, a resident of eastern Khost province, where the Taliban boast a strong presence.

According to the agreement, the Taliban and the Kabul government will begin negotiations by March 10.

But with President Ashraf Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah at loggerheads over contested election results, few expect the pair to present a united front, raising the risk that the insurgents will be able to take the upper hand in negotiations.