The international community on Saturday welcomed the signing of the historic US-Taliban peace agreement as an important step in achieving a lasting political settlement in Afghanistan.

Representatives of the US and the Taliban signed the long-awaited deal in the Qatari capital city of Doha, calling for a gradual withdrawal of American troops if the militants negotiate with the Afghan government and cuts ties with terrorist groups, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to the deal, the US is going to reduce its troops to 8,600 in Afghanistan within 135 days, and will, together with its NATO allies, completely pull out the remaining one in the following 14 months if the Taliban stuck to its commitments.

The pact also sets the stage for intra-Afghan talks which were expected by March 10.

Speaking at the White House on Saturday, US President Donald Trump said that the first withdrawals were starting “immediately” and he expected to “personally” meet Taliban leaders in the near future.

A day ahead of the signing of a landmark peace deal between the US and the Taliban, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Friday travelled to Kabul and conveyed to the top Afghan leadership India’s unstinted support to a peaceful and stable Afghanistan.

Addressing the signing ceremony, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani expressed hope that “this historic agreement will contribute to achieving peace, stability and prosperity in the region and the world”.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday welcomed the “efforts to achieve a lasting political settlement in Afghanistan” following the deal.

On Saturday, Saudi Arabia also welcomed the signing of the deal.

The deal would contribute to bringing stability back to Afghanistan and promote regional and international security, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Ahead of the peace deal, India has conveyed to the US that pressure on Pakistan to crack down on terror networks operating from its soil must be kept up through Islamabad’s cooperation for peace in Afghanistan is crucial.

More than 10,000 civilians were killed or wounded in Afghanistan’s war last year, the United Nations announced Saturday, as a historic partial truce kicked in across the country. India did not recognise Afghanistan diplomatically when Taliban was ruling the country from 1996 to 2002.

(With inputs from agency)