News
Friday, June 10, 2011
Karzai to press Pakistan to back peace talks with Taliban
* Afghan president will today seek public assurance from Pakistani leaders that they will protect any Taliban official who wants to enter into peace talks
KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai will seek public assurance from Pakistani leaders in Islamabad on Friday that they will protect any Taliban official who wants to enter the peace talks, Afghan officials said.
Karzai’s trip to Pakistan will provide an indication of whether relations between the two wary neighbors have improved since US Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan on May 2. The raid aggravated tensions, as Afghan officials said bin Laden’s presence in Pakistan proved their longstanding contention that the war against terrorism should be focused there, not in Afghanistan.
Afghan leaders say they are looking for meaningful gestures from Pakistan’s leaders that they would not attempt to quash any peace talks they launch with Taliban leaders and their insurgent allies. “Pakistan has to encourage all those elements that they will talk to us and give them a guarantee,” said Karzai’s national security adviser, Rangin Dafdar Spanta. “And Pakistan has to arrest all others that are not ready to make peace with us.”
However, officials in Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to the requests.
Plans for the meeting came as Ryan Crocker, President Barack Obama’s nominee to become the next ambassador to Afghanistan, told Senate leaders in a confirmation hearing that the US will back any talks with Taliban leaders willing to renounce violence, renounce al Qaeda and accept an Afghan constitution.
Crocker called the war effort “hard,” but not “hopeless.” Karzai’s attempts to start peace negotiations have led to few concrete results. Afghan and Western officials say Islamabad has stood in the way of talks, which the US has supported.
Last year, Pakistan arrested the Taliban’s no 2 leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, because, Afghan and Western officials say, he had opened secret, direct contacts with the Afghan government. The arrest scuttled tentative Taliban contacts with Kabul, and created a deterrent for further Taliban outreach.
Pakistan has long provided a sanctuary for Taliban leaders and expects to play a central role in any peace deal so that it retains its place as a regional power broker. Afghan leaders say they want to see public assurances from Pakistan. During the trip, the officials are expecting Pakistan to publicly declare that it wants key Taliban leaders, including Mullah Omar, “to join the peace process sooner rather than later.”
While the Afghan Taliban have repeatedly said they would not participate in any talks until all foreign forces leave, US and Afghan negotiators have stepped up their efforts to find insurgent leaders willing to negotiate.
The Afghan government, said a senior Afghan official familiar with talks held to prepare for Karzai’s visit, will ask Pakistan “to give a clear message to the Taliban leaders that Pakistan has changed its policy and now supports Afghan-led reconciliation.” “Unless Pakistan cooperates, the peace effort will not succeed,” said Shaida Muhammad Abdali, Karzai’s deputy national security adviser. “We are hoping that Pakistan will facilitate peace dialogue in whatever manner they can, whether they bring them over to the table—or by other means.” pr
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk