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Pakistan arrests ended UN talks with Taliban
LONDON: The arrest of key Taliban leaders in Pakistan put a halt to secret peace talks with the United Nations, the former UN special representative to Afghanistan said Friday in an interview.
Kai Eide, who stepped down from the post earlier this month, confirmed for the first time that he had held talks with senior Taliban figures but said these ended when Pakistan made a series of high-profile arrests.
"Of course I met the Taliban leaders during the time I was in Afghanistan," said the Norwegian diplomat, talking to the broadcaster at his home in Oslo.
"The first contact was probably last spring, then of course you moved into the election process where there was a lull in activity, and then communication picked up when the election process was over, and it continued to pick up until a certain moment a few weeks ago."
Face-to-face talks were held in Dubai and other locations, and he described the discussions as "in the early stages... talks about talks."
Such negotiations would have been impossible without the authorisation of the movement's leader, Mullah Omar, the diplomat believes.
The process had accelerated a few months ago, but Eide said it had come to a standstill after a top Taliban military commander and other figures from the militia were captured in Pakistan.
"The Pakistanis did not play the role they should have played. They must have known about this," he said.
"I don't believe these people were arrested by coincidence. They must have known who they were, what kind of role they were playing -- and you see the result today."
Pakistani officials have insisted the arrests were not aimed at wrecking the talks, media reported.
Taliban military commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was captured last month in the southern Pakastani city of Karachi in Pakistan, in what US media said was a joint operation with American spies.
Other senior Taliban commanders have also reportedly been captured in Pakistan recently.
Senior US general David Petraeus last month hailed "important breakthroughs" and detentions in Pakistan, as he visited the country.
The developments were interpreted in the US as a sign of success in efforts to persuade Pakistani authorities to act against Afghan Taliban leaders on its territory.
Pakistan arrests ended UN talks with Taliban: ex-UN envoy
LONDON: The arrest of key Taliban leaders in Pakistan put a halt to secret peace talks with the United Nations, the former UN special representative to Afghanistan said Friday in an interview.
Kai Eide, who stepped down from the post earlier this month, confirmed for the first time that he had held talks with senior Taliban figures but said these ended when Pakistan made a series of high-profile arrests.
"Of course I met the Taliban leaders during the time I was in Afghanistan," said the Norwegian diplomat, talking to the broadcaster at his home in Oslo.
"The first contact was probably last spring, then of course you moved into the election process where there was a lull in activity, and then communication picked up when the election process was over, and it continued to pick up until a certain moment a few weeks ago."
Face-to-face talks were held in Dubai and other locations, and he described the discussions as "in the early stages... talks about talks."
Such negotiations would have been impossible without the authorisation of the movement's leader, Mullah Omar, the diplomat believes.
The process had accelerated a few months ago, but Eide said it had come to a standstill after a top Taliban military commander and other figures from the militia were captured in Pakistan.
"The Pakistanis did not play the role they should have played. They must have known about this," he said.
"I don't believe these people were arrested by coincidence. They must have known who they were, what kind of role they were playing -- and you see the result today."
Pakistani officials have insisted the arrests were not aimed at wrecking the talks, media reported.
Taliban military commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was captured last month in the southern Pakastani city of Karachi in Pakistan, in what US media said was a joint operation with American spies.
Other senior Taliban commanders have also reportedly been captured in Pakistan recently.
Senior US general David Petraeus last month hailed "important breakthroughs" and detentions in Pakistan, as he visited the country.
The developments were interpreted in the US as a sign of success in efforts to persuade Pakistani authorities to act against Afghan Taliban leaders on its territory.
Pakistan arrests ended UN talks with Taliban: ex-UN envoy
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