Monday, May 25, 2015

Secret Afghan - Taliban Peace Talks Took Place In China

A group of Taliban fighters are seen in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, April 18, 2015.

Wall Street Journal: Afghan Peace Envoy Met Taliban in Secret China Talks

Meeting was facilitated by Pakistani intelligence agency

KABUL—Afghanistan’s most prominent peace envoy held secret talks with former Taliban officials in China last week, accelerating regional efforts to bring the insurgency to the negotiating table, according to individuals briefed on the matter by the warring parties.

The two-day meeting, which took place in the northwestern Chinese city of Urumqi, was aimed at discussing preconditions for a possible peace process, those people said.

“These were talks about talks,” one diplomat said.

The meeting was significant for another reason: It was facilitated by Pakistan’s intelligence agency in an apparent show of goodwill aimed at a negotiated solution to the insurgency.

Update: Afghan Taliban leaders meet secretly in China: Report -- Times of India/PTI

WNU editor: The Taliban are denying this story .... Taliban Denies Holding Peace Talks in China (VOA). What's my take .... there is a lot of detail in this WSJ report .... someone talked to either scuttle any future talks, or they wanted to brag that it happened.

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