The UN envoy for Afghanistan, the Norwegian Kai Eide, has held secret talks with leaders of the Taliban. A UN staff member said that the UN was keen to see whether the Taliban were prepared to lay down their arms.
The initiative for the talks, held in Dubai on 8 January, came from a number of regional Taliban commanders. A UN spokesperson said that the Taliban leaders involved were tired of having to lie low for the Americans. They were thought to be willing to come to a settlement to enable them to appear in public again.
The talks correspond to President Karzai's wish to work together with moderate Taliban leaders. Mr Karzai plans to organise a peace conference with tribal elders later this year.
Photo: US army searching for the Taliban (Flickr/usarmy)
Flickr/usarmy
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This is very positive news. I hope that Obama will also consider talking to the taliban and end this war soon.
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