Exclusive: Afghan officials met key Taliban figure in Pakistan

KABUL/ISLAMABAD | Sun Aug 12, 2012 4:59am EDT

KABUL/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Afghan officials have held secret talks with the Taliban's former second in command who is in detention in Pakistan in a move which could help rekindle stalled peace talks with the insurgents, according to senior officials from both countries.

Afghan officials have often seen Pakistan as a reluctant partner in attempts to broker talks with the Taliban but its move to grant access to Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar may signal Islamabad's willingness to play a more active role.

(Reporting by Abdul Aziz Ibrahimi in KABUL and Matthew Green and Michael Georgy in ISLAMABAD; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/Reuters/worldNews/~3/giFdQ_b6f_I/us-afghanistan-pakistan-baradar-idUSBRE87B03H20120812

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