Taliban meet with Afghan official in possible negotiations to end war

Members of the Taliban leadership held talks with at least one senior Afghan official in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, The New York Times reports. The Afghan government has expressed hopes that the meeting will lead to negotiations aimed at bringing an end to the Afghanistan War.

Taliban leaders dismissed similar meetings earlier this year in Qatar, Norway, and China as being unofficial talks between individuals and the Afghan government. While it remains to be seen how the Taliban will respond to news of the talks today, Pakistan's role as a go-between is significant, since it is the home of the Taliban leadership in exile and a haven for extremist militants who have long staged raids across the porous Afghan-Pakistani border.

There is also speculation that the threat of ISIS, which has made inroads with the Taliban's base of support, has made the Taliban especially eager to seek peace with the Afghan government, The New York Times reports.

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