The delegation was in Pakistain to meet former Taliban No 2 Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a man seen by Kabul as the key to restarting peace talks with the Taliban, said a front man for Afghanistan's High Peace Council, Mohammed Anwar Eshaaqzai. Eshaaqzai was unable to say if the group had already met Baradar or would do so in coming days. Baradar has been held in
"The Afghan peace council has arrived in Islamabad accompanied by some other foreign and Interior Ministry officials," a Pak official with knowledge of the peace talks told Rooters. "This is a followup of what was decided in London and they will meet officials in the ministries of interior and foreign," the official said. British Prime Minister
David Cameron... has stated that he is
certainly a big Thatcher fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite,which means he's not. Since he is
not deeply ideologicalhe lacks core principles and is easily led. He has been described as
certainly not a Pitt, Elder or Younger,but he does wear a nice suit so maybe he's Beau Brummel ...
hosted Afghanistan's Caped 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...
and Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
in London last month to discuss ways to kickstart the stalled process.
Karzai formed the Afghan High Peace Council in 2010 to pursue a negotiated peace with the Taliban, who have been leading an insurgency since being ousted from power by US-led forces in 2001. Baradar is a long-time friend of the reclusive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar and Afghanistan believes he is still powerful enough to persuade the gunnies to lay down their weapons and make peace.
He was the Taliban's deputy leader and one of their most influential commanders until he was tossed in the slammer
Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages!
in Pakistain in 2010. Pakistain announced his release last month but Baradar remains in the country under close supervision.