News
Friday, April 15, 2011
Pakistan to back Taliban office in Turkey
ANKARA: Pakistan would back a plan to allow the Taliban to open a political office in Turkey to help with talks to end the war in Afghanistan, a Pakistani official said on Thursday during a visit by President Asif Ali Zardari to Ankara. “We have no reservations for such an office to be opened,” the official said, on condition of anonymity. “We are not against it. As long as there’s ownership from the Afghan people and the Afghan government we will not oppose it,” the official added. Analysts say that any solution to the Afghan conflict would likely require the support of Pakistan. Turkey, which has hosted talks aimed at building trust between Pakistan and Afghanistan, has said it is open to allowing the establishment of a diplomatic presence for the Taliban on its soil, but that there is no formal request yet. The proposal first surfaced during a trilateral summit in December between Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan in Istanbul, in which Karzai said Kabul would welcome any offer by Turkey meant to facilitate talks. President Zardari, who is in Turkey, and his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul declined to comment on the issue during a news conference on Wednesday. A Turkish foreign ministry official said: “There is no application (for opening a Taliban office) yet and no decision has been taken yet. We will evaluate it when there is such a demand.” reuters
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk