Farah Sohail
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Taliban commanders refused to meet their former chief in the Pakistani city of Peshawar on Thursday because he was accompanied by Pakistani security agents, dealing a blow to attempts to resume Afghan peace talks, security and militant sources said.
Afghanistan and the United States believe Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who has been held in Pakistan since 2010, holds the key to stopping the war in Afghanistan because he is influential enough to persuade his former comrades there to stop fighting.
Pakistan announced his release on September 20 but Baradar, the former Afghan Taliban second-in-command, is still in custody and watched closely by his Pakistani handlers, an arrangement which could undermine his role as a peacemaker.
Confirming these suspicions, an Afghan Taliban commander said Taliban figures refused to come to Peshawar to meet him because he was accompanied by Pakistani security officials.
"Following his release, he spent some time in Karachi and now arrived in Peshawar to hold meetings with senior members of the movement," the source told Reuters.
"Unfortunately, no one among senior Taliban leaders agreed to see him in Peshawar because security personnel are around him."
It was unclear who Baradar wanted to meet and how long he would stay in Peshawar, a volatile city hit by frequent attacks by the Pakistani Taliban, a militant group operating independently from their Afghan namesakes.
See more: Taliban commanders refuse to meet former leader in Pakistan - sources | Reuters
Afghanistan and the United States believe Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who has been held in Pakistan since 2010, holds the key to stopping the war in Afghanistan because he is influential enough to persuade his former comrades there to stop fighting.
Pakistan announced his release on September 20 but Baradar, the former Afghan Taliban second-in-command, is still in custody and watched closely by his Pakistani handlers, an arrangement which could undermine his role as a peacemaker.
Confirming these suspicions, an Afghan Taliban commander said Taliban figures refused to come to Peshawar to meet him because he was accompanied by Pakistani security officials.
"Following his release, he spent some time in Karachi and now arrived in Peshawar to hold meetings with senior members of the movement," the source told Reuters.
"Unfortunately, no one among senior Taliban leaders agreed to see him in Peshawar because security personnel are around him."
It was unclear who Baradar wanted to meet and how long he would stay in Peshawar, a volatile city hit by frequent attacks by the Pakistani Taliban, a militant group operating independently from their Afghan namesakes.
See more: Taliban commanders refuse to meet former leader in Pakistan - sources | Reuters