Pakistani PM: Afghan-Taliban peace talks will fail if Pakistan is not involved

Pakistani PM: Afghan-Taliban peace talks will fail if Pakistan is not involved

2010-10-13 00:42:44 GMT+7 (ICT)

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday said that the Afghan-Taliban peace talks will fail if Pakistan is not involved.

Gilani said that Pakistan is fundamental for the success of peace talks as it is part of the solution, not part of the problem. Pakistan has tried to engage in peace talks in the past and denied by Afghanistan because it is suspicious of the Pakistani intentions.

Last week, it was revealed that Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his government have been involved in informal talks with Taliban leadership in order to negotiate peace in the troubled country.

Such meetings follow the failed, inconclusive talks hosted by Saudi Arabia over a year ago. This is the first time that the Taliban representatives are fully authorized to speak for the Quetta Shura, the Afghan Taliban organization based in Pakistan, and its leader, Mohammad Omar.

Reportedly, the Taliban would seek the inclusion of Taliban representatives in the Afghan government and the withdrawal of U.S., NATO and other foreign forces from the region in order to reach a comprehensive agreement.

Pakistan helped the Taliban seize power in Afghanistan in the 1990s as the Pakistani government considered the group as a counter weight in the country to Pakistan's archenemy, India.

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