US, Taliban to sign historic peace deal today

• US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is set to witness the signing of the agreement.
• Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will also attend the ceremony.

The US and Taliban are set to sign on Saturday a peace deal which has spurred hopes of ending the almost two decades of conflict in Afghanistan that led to the death of thousands.

The agreement will be signed in Doha, Qatar, which is Taliban's political headquarters and has been the host for talks over the past year and a half. Senior Taliban leaders along with US Special Envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo,  Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will attend the ceremony.

This deal will pave way for US troop numbers to drop to 8,600 from about 13,000 in the weeks following the deal. Prior to the deal, Taliban commanders said the group will release 1000 Afghan prisoners. In exchange, they expect the Afghan government to release their 5000 fighters.