US and Afghanistan in contact with Haqqani Group: report

Both the Afghan and US governments have recently made contact with the most fearsome insurgent group in Afghanistan, the Haqqani network, British newspaper Guardian reported.
Hamid Karzai’s government held direct talks with senior members of the Haqqani clan over the summer, according to well-placed Pakistani and Arab sources. The US contacts have been indirect, through a western intermediary, but have continued for more than a year. The Afghan and US talks were described as extremely tentative. The Haqqani network has a reputation for ruthlessness, even by the standards of the Afghan insurgency, and has the closest ties with Al-Qaida. But Kabul and Washington have come to the conclusion that they cannot be excluded if an enduring peace settlement is to be reached. A senior Pakistani official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said you would not be wrong when asked whether talks involving Haqqani, Karzai and the US were taking place. But he refused to comment further, citing the sensitivity of the matter. Calls and emails soliciting comment from the US state department were unreturned by late last night. A senior western official said the US now considers the Haqqani network to be more powerful than the Quetta Shura, the 15-man leadership council headed by the Taliban’s leader, Mullah Omar. The Quetta Shura is still important but not as much as people thought two years ago. Its prestige and impact have waned, and they are increasingly less important on the battlefield. Now the military threat comes from the Haqqanis, the official said. The twin poles of the insurgency are located at least 250 miles apart along the Durand Line, the lawless Pakistani border. The Haqqanis, who come from Khost in Afghanistan, are anchored in the Pakistani tribal area of North Waziristan.

US and Afghan govts make contact with Haqqani Group: Guardian

Both the Afghan and US governments have recently made contact with the most fearsome insurgent group in Afghanistan, the Haqqani network, British newspaper Guardian reported.
Hamid Karzai’s government held direct talks with senior members of the Haqqani clan over the summer, according to well-placed Pakistani and Arab sources. The US contacts have been indirect, through a western intermediary, but have continued for more than a year. The Afghan and US talks were described as extremely tentative. The Haqqani network has a reputation for ruthlessness, even by the standards of the Afghan insurgency, and has the closest ties with Al-Qaida. But Kabul and Washington have come to the conclusion that they cannot be excluded if an enduring peace settlement is to be reached. A senior Pakistani official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said you would not be wrong when asked whether talks involving Haqqani, Karzai and the US were taking place. But he refused to comment further, citing the sensitivity of the matter. Calls and emails soliciting comment from the US state department were unreturned by late last night. A senior western official said the US now considers the Haqqani network to be more powerful than the Quetta Shura, the 15-man leadership council headed by the Taliban’s leader, Mullah Omar. The Quetta Shura is still important but not as much as people thought two years ago. Its prestige and impact have waned, and they are increasingly less important on the battlefield. Now the military threat comes from the Haqqanis, the official said. The twin poles of the insurgency are located at least 250 miles apart along the Durand Line, the lawless Pakistani border. The Haqqanis, who come from Khost in Afghanistan, are anchored in the Pakistani tribal area of North Waziristan.

Taliban, Karzai hold secret talks to end war

WASHINGTON: Representatives of the Taliban and President Hamid Karzai’s government have started secret talks to negotiate an end to the war in Afghanistan, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday, citing Afghan and Arab sources.

The sources, who were not named by the Post, were quoted as saying they believe the Taliban representatives are authorized to speak for the Quetta Shura, the Afghan Taliban organization based in Pakistan, and its leader, Mohammad Omar.

The sources quoted by the Post stressed that the current discussions are in the preliminary stages. The newspaper said the talks followed inconclusive meetings hosted by Saudi Arabia that wrapped up more than a year ago.

Karzai’s spokesman Waheed Omer, speaking in Kabul, declined to confirm or deny the report of new meetings.

“There were contacts in the past and may now be direct or indirect

CIA Drone Strikes May Be Expanded To Quetta: Report

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