Explained: Afghan deal is off. Now what?

US President Donald Trump has said he has ‘called off peace negotiations’ with Taliban. But a resumption of talks cannot be ruled out; nor can a full US withdrawal without a deal. And could India have unexpectedly got a foot in the door?

On September 8, President Donald Trump posted on Twitter that (a) he had been scheduled to meet, within hours and on US soil, the leadership of the Afghan Taliban, and (b) he had “cancelled the meeting and called off peace negotiations” because the Taliban had, “in order to build false leverage”, admitted to a terrorist attack in Kabul in the middle of the “very important peace talks”.