Afghan President in Pakistan, Hopes for Peace Talks Slim

He said Pakistan had never been an honest ally of Afghanistan and should never be given another chance to sacrifice the Afghans for its strategic goals.

According to the Express Tribune, the insurgent group released the 16-minute file after reports citing multiple intelligence and militant sources claiming the Taliban chief was killed in a firefight on Tuesday inside Pakistan.

News of Omar’s death triggered a violent split in the Taliban, further undermining hopes for the negotiations. Rival groups have rejected the authority of Omar’s successor, Mullah Akhtar Mansour, and have called for a new process to choose a leader, said the report.

It was not possible to verify whether the voice was really that of Mansour although some senior Taliban members said it appeared to be his. This will be the first visit of any top Indian Minister after a break of three years when External Affairs Minister S M Krishna visited Pakistan in 2012.

In the video, a man identifying himself as Abu Yasir Al-Afghani accuses the Taliban of working with neighboring Pakistan’s spy agency, the ISI – a claim denied by Pakistan – and of protecting shrines deemed un-Islamic by extremist ISIS.

But chances of a resumption of talks soon appeared remote given the turmoil within the Taliban. Observers are of the view that the Pakistani military hopes to regain the influence it enjoyed in Kabul before the United States and its allies toppled the Taliban government in 2001.

British Prime Minister David Cameron and Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani during the COP21 World Climate Change Conference 2015 in Le Bourget, north of Paris.

Nascent peace talks with the Taliban – which had been facilitated by Pakistan, China and the USA – broke down in August.

As Habib Wayand write today for The Diplomat “this week’s conference gives both Pakistan and Afghanistan a real opportunity to work out their differences and negotiate a settlement”. Speaking at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul on Sunday, Olson said the revival of ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan for the peace talks can ensure a good future for the region.

The developments have also paved way for visit of Indian Prime Minister to Pakistan to attend SAARC Summit next year.

The latest meeting, however, comes at a time when traditionally uneasy relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan are again marred by deep suspicions and mistrust after a period of improvement in the first half of the year. India has committed $2bn in aid to Kabul and its annual trade is around $680m which can increase manifold if the Afghan-Pakistan Trade and Transit Agreement (APTTA) is worked out to permit India-Afghan trade through Pakistan.