Pak willing to nudge Taliban for talks if Kabul wants

Pointing out that Afghan peace talks was "miles away", Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar today said Islamabad was ready to nudge the Taliban and their allies to make peace if asked to do so by the Afghanistan government and not Americans or any others.

"I can't say what influence we have with either, but what I'm saying is that we are willing to do whatever the Afghans expect or want us to do," she was quoted as saying by The Telegraph in London.

Experts see Pakistan as vital for any far-fetching peace process to take place in Afghanistan given Islamabad's historic ties with the militant group which dates back to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.

A leaked NATO report this week had alleged that Pakistan's military-run ISI maintains close relationship with the Taliban.

Khar, who just returned from a one-day trip to Kabul, said, full-fledged peace talks were still "miles away" and could only begin once the Afghan government determined how the process should be structured.

"Who can play this central role? Not Pakistan, the US, Germany, the UK, Qataris, Saudis or anyone, it has to be the Afghans," she said speaking to a small group of selected foreign correspondents.

The much talked about peace process has picked up speed in recent past with the Taliban's decision to set up a political office in Qatar to facilitate talks.

However the entire process is smeered with lack of trust between the main parties involved.