US President Joe Biden has said he “can’t picture” US troops still being in Afghanistan next year, but did not offer a precise timetable as to when the withdrawal would take place, writes Aljazeera.

All eyes are on Washington as Biden decides whether his country will leave the war-torn country by May 1, in line with a deal struck with the Taliban group, or stay put.

Under the February 2020 deal negotiated by Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump’s administration, the US promised to withdraw all 2,500 US troops left in Afghanistan.

In return, the Taliban pledged to renounce violence, prevent groups such as al-Qaeda from using Afghanistan as a base from which to attack US and allied targets and enter into intra-Afghan peace talks.

Yet violence continues to plague the South Asian country, including a recent rise in deliberate killings of journalists, aid workers and government employees.

“It’s going to be hard to meet the May 1 deadline”, - Biden said at his first formal White House news conference of his presidency.