Kabul, January 29: Plans to engage the Taliban in talks have gathered pace, with Afghanistan inviting members to a peace council and reports of a secret UN meeting.
At a key Afghanistan summit in London, President Hamid Karzai vowed to reach out to “disenchanted brothers”.
A UN official told news agencies special envoy Kai Eide had met Taliban members in Dubai on 8 January after they had asked for talks.
Mr Eide denied meeting on that date but refused to comment on other dates.
The one-day conference in London saw world leaders pledge $140m (£87m) to win over low-level Taliban fighters.
Delegates also said that Afghan forces could take control of security in some provinces by the end of 2010 and that the process could be complete in five years.
‘Talks about talks’
At the summit, Mr Karzai again urged the Taliban to renounce violence.
A number of military and diplomatic sources in Afghanistan say they are hearing reports that some senior Taliban are tired of fighting, and would be interested in a political solution.
But in a situation where intelligence has often proved to be dangerously faulty, it’s very hard to get the measure of what the Taliban is thinking and whether indeed this movement is divided and capable of being split from al-Qaeda and more hardline elements as Hamid Karzai and his allies want to believe.
“We must reach out to all of our countrymen, especially our disenchanted brothers, who are not part of al-Qaeda, or other terrorist networks, who accept the Afghan constitution,” he told delegates.
He invited moderate Taliban to a peace summit.
The UN official, who would not be named, told news agencies that Mr Eide had met members of Taliban’s Quetta Shura – senior commanders known to be based in the southern Pakistani city.
“They requested a meeting to talk about talks. They want protection, to be able to come out in public,” the official was quoted.
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Eide, the UN Special Representative, categorically denied any talks took place on 8 January, saying he was only in Dubai for several hours – in transit en route to Kabul.
As for other dates, Mr Eide said he never commented on reports like this, whether true or false.
Taliban spokesmen have repeatedly said they have no interest in talking to Mr Karzai’s government.
Lyse Doucet says that, if true, this report of secret talks would be a significant development.
‘Corruption’
The final communique from the summit in London said it welcomed Afghanistan’s goal of taking charge of the “majority of operations in the insecure areas of Afghanistan within three years and taking responsibility for physical security within five years”.
“The themes of mutual responsibility – Afghan and international – and of unity behind a clear plan came through very strongly indeed.”
The summit said the Afghan government had acknowledged that it had to tackle corruption.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said reforms planned by President Karzai, such as tackling corruption and effectively managing aid, were important and the US would be watching them carefully.
The summit said the Afghan government had made progress on economic development, and it hoped it would continue to boost agriculture, human resources and infrastructure.
The diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus said the theme of the conference was unity and coherence, but also an acknowledgement that there was no military solution to Afghanistan’s problems.
—Agencies