Washington: With the Taliban not reducing violence in war-torn Afghanistan, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said the peace process in that country is not going as quickly as expected.

“It’s behind schedule,” Esper said at a Brookings Institute event on May 4. “We continue to talk to both sides about what they need to do to fully implement the agreement.”

Officials had cautiously hoped a peace deal signed in February by the United States and the Taliban would lead to intra-Afghan negotiations that could serve as a new foundation of peace for a country plagued by more than 18 consecutive years of war.

Those intra-Aghan peace efforts stalled, however, as President Ashraf Ghani and the country’s chief executive Abdullah Abdullah have continued their political battle for power.

While the Taliban has kept its word on not attacking international forces, according to Esper, attacks from the Taliban against Afghan government forces have increased.

“There has not been a reduction in violence, if you will, from the Taliban side,” Esper said, adding that “on the other hand they have not attacked us or attacked major metropolitan areas.”

Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said on May 1 the “unacceptably high” number of attacks by the Taliban was “not conducive to a diplomatic solution.”

The comments come as US Central Command (CENTCOM) astounded reporters with a statement that its Air Force component would no longer be providing regular updates on the number of airstrikes in the West Asia theatre to include Afghanistan.

Cmd. Zachary Harrell, a CENTCOM spokesman, said the change was due to “diplomatic relation concerns, including how the report could adversely impact ongoing discussions with the Taliban regarding Afghanistan peace talks.”