Afghanistan's 'secret' deal with the Taliban

Talks have reportedly begun. Is there really any chance they could lead to a negotiated end to the war?

A peaceful Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai says, will happen only when the Taliban renounce al Qaeda, among other conditions.
(Image credit: Getty)

The Afghan government has opened "secret, high-level talks" with representatives of the Taliban, suggesting there may be hope for a negotiated end to the war. The discussions are preliminary, but for the first time the Taliban representatives are believed to be speaking for the Quetta Shura, the Afghan Taliban organization based in Pakistan, and its leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar. "They are very, very serious about finding a way out," an insider, quoted in The Washington Post, said of the Taliban. Is there any chance these talks could really lead to peace? (Watch an al Jazeera report about the talks)

The prospects are bleak: "Don't throw the confetti for the war's end yet," say the editors of The Christian Science Monitor. The U.S. and Afghan President Hamid Karzai insist that the Islamist insurgents must accept the Afghan constitution, "especially its provisions for women’s rights," and "they must forswear al Qaeda." But the Taliban "deplore the constitution." No matter how badly both sides may want peace, "internal reconciliation" may be impossible.

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