Karzai in Pakistan for Peace Talks; Admits Secret Talks with Taliban
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SHAH MARAI/AFP/Getty Images(ISLAMABAD) — Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrived in Islamabad Thursday to hold talks, believed to be aimed at making peace with the Taliban, with Pakistani officials.
The day before, Karzai admitted to the Wall Street Journal that his government has engaged in secret talks with the militant group in an effort to end the 10-year war. This comes after it was confirmed last month that the U.S. has been holding secret talks with the Taliban and was trying to get Afghanistan on board.
“There have been contacts between the U.S. government and the Taliban, there have been contacts between the Afghan government and the Taliban, and there have been some contacts that we have made, all of us together, including the Taliban,” Karzai told the newspaper Wednesday.
The Afghan leader didn’t disclose any more details, fearing it could damage the process, and Taliban spokesmen couldn’t be reached for confirmation.
Later on Thursday, Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari were met in Islamabad by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to discuss trade issues.
The three leaders are expected to hold a press conference on Friday.
Recently, Vice President Joe Biden made headlines when he said of the al Qaeda-linked group responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American soldiers in Afghanistan, “The Taliban, per se, is not our enemy.” The Obama administration supported his statement.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio