Pakistan starts behind-scenes support to US-Taleban talks

washington/peshawar — Pakistan has begun to play a behindthe-scenes but central role in supporting US peace talks with the Afghan Taleban, including by facilitating travel to negotiations, US officials and Taleban sources say.

The Pakistani assistance, which has not been reported in such detail before, also includes exerting pressure on Taleban leaders who fail to cooperate, including by detaining members of the militants’ families, the insurgents say.

One senior US official, who declined to be identified, said of Pakistan’s role in the talks: “We know it just wouldn’t be possible without their support.”

“They’ve facilitated some movement and travel to the discussions in Doha,” the official said.

Trump’s administration has accelerated talks for a political settlement in Afghanistan. US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad held six days of talks — perhaps the most productive to date — with the Taleban in Doha last month and is due to meet Taleban representatives again on February 25.

Taleban sources said Pakistan’s

role in bringing the Taleban to the negotiating table was instrumental. In one instance, Islamabad sent a message to the militants through religious leaders that they had to talk to the United States or risk a cut-off in ties.

They detained Taleban members’ families as a way to pressure them, a Taleban leader said. “I haven’t seen Pakistan so serious before,” the senior Taleban leader said.

The Taleban leader, who declined to be named, said Pakistan had kept “unprecedented pressure” on the militants and their close relatives over the past few months. “They made it clear to us that we (Taleban) have to talk to the US and Afghan government,” the Taleban leader said.

US General Joseph Votel, who leads the US Central Command, hinted at some kind of Pakistani assistance in a senate hearing this week, saying Islamabad had “played a more helpful role”.

Pakistani sources suggest that the driver behind their country’s support for the talks is not US aid but growing concerns over the regional economic shockwaves that could follow an abrupt US pullout from Afghanistan.

Those concerns have been strengthened by Trump’s surprise decision in December to withdraw completely from Syria, despite objections from the Pentagon. There are only about 14,000 US troops in Afghanistan at the moment, but their presence ensures a continuous flow of US financial assistance to Afghanistan.

Islamabad says it cannot afford to see Afghanistan slide into chaos just as Pakistan is trying to attract foreign investors to shore up its own economy. “That is our main worry in all of this,” said a senior official who is closely involved in cross-border relations. “We have enough economic issues of our own to deal with already.”

One of the most notable public signs of Pakistan’s willingness to aid the negotiations was the release of Taleban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. Now the newly appointed chief negotiator, Baradar is expected to fly from Pakistan to attend the next round of negotiations in Doha on February 25.—

Pakistan keeps pressure on us. They (Pakistan) made it clear to us that we (Taleban) have to talk to the US and Afghan govt

Taleban leader