ISLAMABAD, Pakistan ? The prospect of talks with the Taliban inched closer on Thursday when the leaders of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran met to explore ways of pushing the nascent peace process forward.
The two-day trilateral meeting hosted by the Pakistani president, Asif Ali Zardari, comes as his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai, claims to have opened direct discussions with the Taliban for the first time in the 11-year-old insurgency.
In an interview published in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, President Karzai said the talks had taken place over the past month thanks to an American-sponsored initiative anchored in the Gulf state of Qatar.
The Taliban, who frequently deride Mr. Karzai as an ?American puppet,? denied any such talks had taken place. ?The Islamic Emirates have never talked with Kabul?s powerless administration,? said a spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, in an e-mail statement.
Such conflicting statements have become par for the course in a nervy process driven by rumors and speculation and which, at least until now, had all the clarity of a hall of mirrors.
The current talks in Islamabad are significant because all players agree that Pakistan will play a crucial role in determining the success of any talks, largely because the Taliban leadership ? and many fighters ? are believed to be sheltering inside Pakistan?s lawless western borders.
Last month Pakistan permitting Taliban representatives, many of whom are believed to be based in and around the cities of Karachi and Quetta, to travel to Qatar to meet with American representatives.
Yet the extent and nature of any Pakistani role in peace talks remains deeply contentious, marred by deep-rooted suspicion among Afghan, Western and even Taliban officials following decades of Pakistani meddling in Afghan affairs.
In Kabul, Western and Afghan officials conjectured that Islamabad was using the trilateral meetings to provide a counterweight to American efforts to open a door to the Taliban.
They speculate that Pakistan may try to set up a meeting between senior Taliban commanders and Mr. Karzai in Pakistan both to prove their sincerity in supporting peace and also to demonstrate their influence with the Taliban.
Pakistani civilian leaders insist they are acting in good faith and have thrown their weight behind an ?Afghan-led? peace process. ?We will not block any process leading towards reconciliation,? the foreign minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, told a small group of reporters late Thursday, referring to the American initiative in Qatar.
?We don?t have a formula for peace talks; in fact I don?t think anyone does yet,? a senior foreign ministry official added. ?But one thing is clear: it will have to be the Afghans themselves who come up with it.?
Pakistani officials stress they are keen to prove their bona fides with their Afghan counterparts. On a recent visit to Kabul Ms. Khar visited Afghan leaders from ethnic groups that have traditionally been hostile towards Pakistan. Her message, the official said, was the same to each: ?Whatever you decide, we will be supportive of you.?
On Thursday President Zardari told President Karzai he would extend ?full cooperation? to investigators probing the death of Burhanuddin Rabbani, Mr. Karzai?s main peace negotiator, who died in a suicide bombing last year. At the time, many Afghan officials accused Pakistan of orchestrating the assassination.
Islamabad could also leverage its presence in the peace process through its close ally Saudi Arabia, which recently offered to host a second strand of the peace talks based in its capital, Riyadh.
A former Obama administration official said the Saudis had proposed the role, expressing unhappiness that Qatar had taken the lead.
On Thursday, President Zardari also held a meeting with President Ahmadinejad of Iran, during which he reiterated his commitment for the ?expeditious implementation? of a long-mooted gas pipeline between the two countries, Mr. Zardari?s spokesman said.
That statement is likely to discomfit Washington, which has for years trenchantly opposed the gas project, despite major energy shortages in Pakistan. Iran and Pakistan also plan to build a major cross-border electricity transmission line, and to raise the level of bilateral trade to $5 billion a year, Mr. Zardari?s spokesman added.
Officials said the meeting between the three presidents, due to take place Friday, would also focus on other mutual areas of interest: border controls, tackling drug smuggling and economic development.
Mr. Ahmadinejad may seek to skirt questions about his country?s nuclear program, which has come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks amid Israeli threats to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities and assaults on Israeli diplomatic personnel in India and Thailand.
Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=ebf67c189572aad323cc331865b5ea06
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