Pakistani, Afghan leaders agree to Taliban talks

[Praxius]

CTV.ca | Pakistani, Afghan leaders agree to Taliban talks

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistani and Afghan leaders vowed Tuesday to seek dialogue with Taliban insurgents, saying the "door is now open" for reconciliation.


The declaration by political and tribal leaders adds force to existing moves in Afghanistan and Pakistan to talk to militants prepared to hand over their weapons and accept the constitutions of both countries.


"We agreed that contacts should be established with the opposition," said former Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the Afghan delegation at two days talks in the Pakistani capital.


"Those who are willing to take this opportunity and come forward, the door is open," he said.


He said the meeting, or "jirga," had formed committees to seek contacts with "all parties in this conflict." They would then report back to a meeting in two months with their findings, he said.


Violence in Afghanistan and Pakistan has risen steadily since U.S.-led forces drove the Taliban from power in Afghanistan in 2001. Many militants fled to Pakistan's border regions, where they have established bases and struck back with increasing success.


The Afghan government is seeking talks with elements in the Taliban leadership in an effort at reconciliation and the Taliban's former ambassador to Pakistan said the two sides recently had contacts in Saudi Arabia.


Pakistani officials have also said they are prepared to talk with militants who give up arms.


U.S. officials, who are preparing to reinforce their troops in Afghanistan, have played down the significance of the Afghan talks, but support the principle of reconciliation for those who give up violence.


Tuesday's meeting of some 50 leaders in Islamabad, dubbed a mini-jirga, is a follow-up to a much larger "peace council" in Kabul last year which vowed to fight terrorism together.


The idea for the jirga process had been hatched almost a year earlier during a White House meeting between U.S. President George W. Bush, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and then-Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.


The pledges of cross-border cooperation made in 2007 have largely failed to materialize.

Well if both sides can pull it off, then hopefully we can head home finally and the US's plans failed... everybody wins.

 

[EagleSmack]

What is our plan and how does it fail?

 

[earth_as_one]

I see no harm in seeking a compromise acceptable to all sides of this conflict including the Taliban. Canada and the west is not in Afghanistan to impose our cultural values, but stop Afghanistan from being a base of operations for those who would attack the west. What Afghans do in Afghanistan is their business, not ours.

The Taliban were not our enemy until we attacked them. The Taliban did not have anything to do with the events of 9/11. We attacked them because they refused to handover the people allegedly involved in 9/11. At one time, the Taliban were American allies. The US armed and trained the Taliban to fight the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. I see no reason why we can't have a peace agreement with the Taliban.

 

[EagleSmack]

I see no harm in seeking a compromise acceptable to all sides of this conflict including the Taliban. Canada and the west is not in Afghanistan to impose our cultural values, but stop Afghanistan from being a base of operations for those who would attack the west. What Afghans do in Afghanistan is their business, not ours.

The Taliban were not our enemy until we attacked them. The Taliban did not have anything to do with the events of 9/11. We attacked them because they refused to handover the people allegedly involved in 9/11. At one time, the Taliban were American allies. The US armed and trained the Taliban to fight the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. I see no reason why we can't have a peace agreement with the Taliban.

I agree with you in part. I see the benefits of negotiating with them to end hostilities.

The US did not arm the Taliban to fight the Soviets. The Taliban was not even around during the the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. The Taliban came on the scene after the Soviets left and was one of many groups battling for power in the ensuing civil war. The US supported the mujadeen of which some I am sure joined the Taliban but most of the Taliban were too young to fight the Soviets and were formed in the madras in Pakistan from Afghan refugees. Just as the Northern Alliance was not around during the Soviet war and was a by product of the Civil War as the Taliban was.

 

[Avro]

I agree with you in part. I see the benefits of negotiating with them to end hostilities.

The US did not arm the Taliban to fight the Soviets. The Taliban was not even around during the the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. The Taliban came on the scene after the Soviets left and was one of many groups battling for power in the ensuing civil war. The US supported the mujadeen of which some I am sure joined the Taliban but most of the Taliban were too young to fight the Soviets and were formed in the madras in Pakistan from Afghan refugees. Just as the Northern Alliance was not around during the Soviet war and was a by product of the Civil War as the Taliban was.

You're right, the Americans armed Bin Laden instead because he was a freedom fighter.:roll:

 

[Avro]

Not sure why cons are so afraid of negotiations, they work.

Better than blowing things up in the name of freedom.

 

[Just the Facts]

You're right, the Americans armed Bin Laden instead because he was a freedom fighter.:roll:

Gotta love how he shows his appreciation.