Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar ready for peace talks with the US

The Pakistani and Saudi authorities have apparently convinced the fugitive spiritual leader of the Afghan Taliban Mullah Mohammad Omar to hold talks with Obama and Karzai administrations so that a post-exit strategy could be devised for Afghanistan.

Well informed diplomatic circles in Islamabad say the process of bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table has gained momentum, with the US and its allies escalating their efforts to get America out of Afghan quagmire before December 2010, when president Barack Obama is due to give an official review of Afghan strategy.

Diplomatic circles claimed that unlike in the past nine years since the ouster of the Taliban and the launching of the US-led anti-insurgency operations in Afghanistan, for the first time Mullah Omar has shown a flexible attitude while agreeing to hold talks with the Americans who are in the process of devising an exit strategy for Afghanistan.

He had earlier insisted that all foreign troops leave Afghanistan before any peace talks could begin. Separately, Afghan president Hamid Karzai has set up a high peace council to facilitate talks with Taliban leaders.

At the same time, the Pakistan army has started using its connections with the Taliban to press for a ceasefire in Afghanistan.

The sources said Afghan president Hamid Karzai Karzai, along with the American top man in Afghanistan, general David Petraeus, recently met Pakistani army chief general Ashfaq Parvez Kiani in Islamabad to further persuade the Taliban to prevent violence at the time of elections in Afghanistan.

One of the main topics was to reinforce Karzai’s position in Kabul so that he will be in a position to deal with whatever emerges, be it peace with the Taliban or war with them.

Another important intelligence official involved in brokering the peace talks is prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz, Saudi Arabia’s intelligence chief who is also a special envoy of King Saud assigned to deal with the Taliban.

According to diplomatic circles, the American suggestion that it will maintain a military presence in northern Afghanistan despite giving control of the southern part of the country to Taliban is the bone of contention as the militant group does not agree with this — they want a complete US withdrawal.

All key international players will soon be meeting in Pakistan to help the US decide  on whether it will begin a withdrawal from Afghanistan as planned for next year or continue fighting.