Karzai Seeks Help for Peace Talks with Taliban
During his traditional Eid holiday message to the people, Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced that he had been traveling to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan seeking help from their leaders in peace talks with the Taliban. The US, UK and the Afghan government all agree that they must reach out to moderate Taliban leaders but there is disparity on exactly how this should be done.
Earlier attempts to negotiate with the Taliban were plagued by foreign intervention. Saudi Arabia was one of the countries that acknowledged the Taliban government before they were overthrown by the US in 2001. In addition to Saudi Arabia’s connection, Afghan intelligence believes that the Taliban leader, Mullah Omar is hiding in Pakistan. With assistance from these two countries, Karzai hopes that he will be more successful in his efforts to initiate peace talks with the Taliban.
Brandie Gordon
