Pak tells Afghan Taliban to form team for peace talks

Pakistan has told the Afghan Taliban leadership to form a team for peace negotiations, as pressure mounted on Islamabad to persuade the militants for talks, a media report said today.
The Daily Times newspaper reported quoting a Taliban leader familiar with the development that Pakistani officials conveyed the message to the Taliban in a recent interaction.
"However, the Taliban leaders have not yet responded to the call," according to the paper.
The Afghan Taliban had earlier refused to accept Pakistan's call to join the political dialogue when a similar message was conveyed to them in a face-to-face meeting between several senior Taliban leaders and Pakistani officials in March.

Weeks later, Taliban launched their annual spring offensive codenamed 'Omari Operations' after then chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour, who was killed by a US drone last year.
Although Taliban have yet not responded to Pakistans appeal, this time Pakistan could go tough on the Taliban if they refuse to come to the negotiation table, a former Taliban minister told Daily Times, requesting anonymity.

There is a possibility that some Taliban members are arrested, expelled or even handed over to Afghanistan if Taliban leadership declines to join the peace process, he further said.
The report said most of the Taliban military commanders, including military chief Ibrahim Sadr, are in southern Afghanistan to lead the war from there. All Taliban leaders, who are considered to be in Mansour's camp, have already left Pakistan and are now in Helmand, Kandahar and Urozgan.

A Taliban official, who had joined fighting in eastern part during spring offensive, said that the Taliban now freely move from one stronghold to another and even from the south to the relatively peaceful north where they have many areas under their control.
Pakistan has pressed the Taliban to join the peace talks amid diplomatic efforts to find out a peaceful solution to the Afghan problem.
Senior Afghan, Chinese, Pakistani and US officials also met in Muscat, Oman today at the Quadrilateral Coordination Group's meeting, which will be their first sitting after they met in Islamabad in May last year.

The QCG process had been dysfunctional after Mansour's death, an attack Pakistan had described as a serious setback to the peace process.
However, now the Americans are believed to have taken the lead to revive the grouping, which is one of the best options available to push for the political negotiations, the report said.
Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua will lead Pakistan's delegation in the QCG consultations.
Pakistan had earlier insisted that it is not its responsibility to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table and all QCG members should use their influence in this regard.
Pakistani officials now say the reconciliation with the Taliban has got further complicated as Russia and Iran are now completely involved in the process and they have strong contacts with both countries.