Pakistan hosts talks to revive Afghan peace

Some analysts hope the added presence of China and the United States may help overcome mistrust between Kabul and Islamabad, though it remains unclear when the Taleban themselves will return to the negotiating table.

Islamabad: Pakistan on Monday opened four-country talks aimed at luring the Afghan Taleban back to the negotiating table with the Kabul government, even as the insurgents wage an unprecedented winter campaign of violence.
The talks in Islamabad, announced in December, come as the Taleban's insurgency intensifies, particularly in the country's south, testing the capacity of Afghanistan's overstretched military and placing pressure on Pakistan to rein in its one-time proxies.
Some analysts hope the added presence of China and the United States may help overcome mistrust between Kabul and Islamabad, though it remains unclear when the Taleban themselves will return to the negotiating table. They are not part of this week's talks.
"The primary objective of the reconciliation process is to create conditions to bring the Taleban groups to the negotiation table and offer them incentives that can persuade them to move away from using violence," said Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan's top foreign affairs official, as he opened the talks.
The so-called "roadmap" talks are meant to lay the groundwork for direct dialogue between the Afghan government and the group, whose bloody insurgency shows no signs of abating more than 14 years after they were ousted from power by a US-led coalition.
Pakistan was among three countries that recognised the Taleban's 1996-2001 regime and it is widely seen as wielding influence over them today.
Sartaj cautioned against "unrealistic targets and deadlines" and hinted it was unlikely major breakthroughs would be announced soon. "Keeping in view the sensitive nature of the group's work, it should be our endeavour to keep the work of this group out of media glare, as much as possible," he said.
Shuja Nawaz, director of the Atlantic Council's South Asia Centre, said the discussions gave "cautious hope" that peace negotiations can soon begin again in earnest.
A first round of dialogue with the Taleban themselves was held in July but collapsed after the group belatedly confirmed their leader Mullah Omar was dead.
The news sparked infighting between senior Taleban leaders and the group's new chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour, which in turn led to the creation of a new faction headed by Mohammed Rasool in November.

• Pakistan