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| Afghanistan | |
| Pakistan urges all Afghan insurgents to pursue peace | |
| 2012-11-12 | |
[Dawn] Pakistain hopes to persuade Afghan bad turban groups, including the Haqqani network, to pursue peace but worries resistance from political factions opposed to the Taliban could undermine reconciliation efforts, Islamabad's ambassador to Kabul said.
Sadiq was speaking just ahead of an expected visit to Pakistain by an Afghan peace council due to give Islamabad a road map of how it wants its influential neighbour to help end the war with the Afghan Taliban, now in its 11th year. "Afghans are much more united in wanting to join the reconciliation process than they were two years ago," he said. "But still there are very important people who fought against the Taliban and are not still ready to talk and negotiate with the Taliban. And we are working with them." Sadiq was referring to former members of the Northern Alliance, which toppled the Afghan Taliban in 2001 with US backing. Some now occupy government positions or are in the opposition. President Hamid Maybe I'll join the TalibanKarzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtunface on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... set up a High Peace Council comprised of members of diverse Afghan ethnic and political groups to try to ease mistrust between the Taliban and its traditional enemies and forge a peace deal. The task has gained urgency as most NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... combat troops prepare to withdraw at the end of 2014 and hand over security to Afghan government forces. Lack of progress has fuelled fears of a civil war and some Afghans worry the Taliban will try and seize power again if no comprehensive political settlement is reached before then. | |
| Posted by:Fred |