Taliban says met with US envoy in Doha

Washington's special envoy to Afghanistan met with the Taliban in Qatar, the insurgents said yesterday, as efforts intensify to revive a peace process faced with mounting violence and a US troop withdrawal deadline. The envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, held talks earlier this week with Afghan leaders in Kabul.   Taliban spokesman Muhamad Naeem tweeted that Khalilzad and the top US general in Afghanistan met with the insurgents' negotiating team in Doha late Friday. Speculation is rife over America's future in Afghanistan, after the White House announced plans to review a withdrawal deal brokered by Khalilzad and the Taliban in Doha last year. Under that agreement, the US is set to withdraw from Afghanistan in May, but a surge in fighting has sparked concerns that a speedy exit may unleash greater chaos as peace talks between the Kabul government and Taliban continue to stall.