By Dean Nelson, Praveen Swami and Ben Farmer in Kabul 6:00AM GMT 13 Dec 2010
General Ashfaq Kiyani, Pakistan's army chief, has launched a diplomatic offensive to persuade the United States, Britain and President Karzai to back the deal which would offer government posts to Taliban leaders prepared to renounce al-Qaeda.
It amounts to a direct challenge to Nato's current strategy to intensify the war against the Taliban-led insurgency in the hope of persuading its "reconcilable elements" to negotiate a peace.
Under General Kiyani's plan however, the insurgency's most feared faction, the "Haqqani Network" could play a role in a new 'broad-based government'.
Washington's frustration over Pakistan's refusal to confront the followers of Jalaluddin Haqqani, a vetran warlord, was revealed by WikiLeaks which published a cable earlier this month in which the US ambassador to Pakistan Anne Paterson said "no amount of money" could persuade Pakistan to abandon the group, which it regards as an ally against Indian influence in Afghanistan.
Gen Kiyani and his intelligence chief have met President Karzai twice in recent months and he is understood to be considering their proposal
No comments:
Post a Comment