Pakistani PM calls on Taliban and its allies to take part in peace talks

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan called Friday for the Afghan Taliban to start talks with the Kabul government, lending fresh diplomatic momentum to a U.s.-sponsored peace process that is anchored in the Persian Gulf state of Qatar.

After a phone discussion with Afghan president Hamid Karzai, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani issued a statement calling on the Taliban and “all other Afghan groups, including Hizb-e-islami,” a pro-taliban militant group with historical ties to Pakistan, to participate in what is referred to as a reconciliation process.

The statement, which came less than 24 hours after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with Pakistan’s foreign minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, in London, is potentially significant because the Taliban leadership – and many of its fighters – are believed to be sheltering on Pakistani soil.

In January, Pakistan facilitated the fledgling process in Qatar, where the United States wants the Taliban to set up a liaison office for the purpose of conducting negotiations, by allowing Taliban representatives to travel to the gulf state.

Gilani’s diplomatic overture appeared to be a further admission of his country’s influence over the insurgents – although the nature of that influence is hotly debated.

Pakistan’s stance on the Taliban is also a function of its volatile relationship with Washington, which has been effectively on hold since November when U.S. warplanes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in a confused cross-border strike.

U.S. plans to move past that case, and reboot diplomatic relations, were stymied this week by riots in Afghanistan set off after Qurans were burned at the country’s large NATO base Monday night.

Under a carefully co-ordinated plan, the military had planned for General Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to make a formal apology for the U.S. strike via telephone to Pakistan’s army chief, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, on Thursday.

A senior Pakistani official said his government also wanted the U.S. apology to be delayed until at least mid-march, when the Pakistani parliament is due to hold a special sitting to debate the country’s policy toward the U.S.