Afghan Govt, Taliban Hold Direct Talks İn Pakistan

The Afghan government and Taliban have met in Pakistan's capital Islamabad to begin direct peace talks for the first time. 



Local media reported that the meeting lasted two hours at an undisclosed location on Tuesday and was attended by two "senior" Pakistani officials. 



Both sides kept quiet about the details of the meeting, including who attended, but a military official told Anadolu Agency, on condition of anonymity, that the Taliban delegation stuck to its key demand for a complete withdrawal of foreign forces from the conflict-ridden country. 



Another Pakistani government official doubted whether the talks would have any positive outcome, claiming that the Afghan government was actually holding discussions with a splinter factor of the Taliban led by Mullah Mansoor Dadullah -- who had allegedly been cut off by the Taliban's leader Mullah Omar. 



The Taliban's spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid would not confirm however who had represented the Taliban at the talks but has previously denied that the main Taliban group had met with the government. 



"I can't confirm these rumors right now. We will announce our official stance soon," Mujahid said by text message. 



The Afghan Presidential Palace confirmed that a delegation had been sent to Islamabad which, according to reports, was headed by deputy foreign minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai, who earlier held meetings with Taliban representatives in Oslo last month.



An Afghan official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Anadolu Agency that the Islamabad meeting was the first face-to-face talks between the two sides. 



"[The] delegation included representatives from all parts of the Afghan society," the official said. 



Islamabad-based security analyst and journalist Kamal Hyder told Anadolu Agency that until more information is shared by all sides, it will be hard to understand the nature of the talks. 



"A fog of misinformation is surrounding the talks. It needs confirmation mainly from the Taliban as to whether they recognize these talks," Hyder said. "Unless, Mullah Omar recognizes the ongoing talks, it will be a futile exercise."



A series of preliminary discussions have been held in Dubai, China, Qatar and Norway in recent months as the Afghan government looks for a way to end more than a decade of conflict with the Taliban. 



But the talks come as the Taliban continue to launch public attacks as part of its spring offensive, with two suicide bombings on local and foreign security forces in the capital Kabul on Tuesday. - Lahor