KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan’s presidential election, scheduled for April, is likely to be delayed, Afghan officials said on Wednesday, underscoring the country’s fragility as war with the Taliban rages and the United States presses for peace talks.

The officials suggested a lack of technical preparations justified a delay of at least three months, to avoid repeating the furious disputes and accusations of industrial-scale fraud that followed the previous presidential election, in 2014. But the move comes as the Trump administration is losing patience with the long war in Afghanistan, where about 14,000 American troops remain.

Last week Pentagon officials said President Trump had ordered preparations to withdraw 7,000 soldiers from Afghanistan in coming months — a decision that surprised Afghan officials. It also went against the advice of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and may have contributed to his resignation.

Although American generals have since played down the suggestion of an imminent withdrawal, Mr. Trump has made no secret of his exasperation with troops’ protracted entanglement in Afghanistan. His White House also has been pressing for the Taliban to sit down for direct talks with the Afghan government.