USA and Taliban sign a historic peace deal; Joint declaration says US will withdraw troops from Afghanistan in 14 months in phased manner; India says it will continue to support Afghanistan for a peaceful, democratic and prosperous future.

The United States signed a deal with the Taliban on Saturday that sets the stage to end America's longest war, the nearly two-decade-old conflict in Afghanistan that began after the Septemebr 11 attacks.

U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban deputy leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar inked the deal in Doha, Qatar. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo witnessed the signing of agreement.

Addressing the gathering both the parties committed to the timetable for the final withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan. US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said that America will calibrate pace of withdrawal from Afghanistan with Taliban's actions. The deal was mediated by Qatar and India witnessed the signing of the peace agreement.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has hailed the signing of a historic deal with the Taliban that Washington hopes will mark the beginning of the end of its longest war, and said he would meet Taliban leaders "in the not so distant future." Trump said he believed the Taliban were ready for peace but warned that should the deal fail to take hold, we'll go back.