Exclusive: Pakistan angers Afghans by suggesting Taliban share power - minister

[dipsydoodle]

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - Pakistan has floated the concept of an Afghan power-sharing arrangement between Kabul and the Taliban as part of a peace talks "end game", Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Ershad Ahmadi said on Monday, a suggestion met with outrage in Kabul.

The idea was raised in a Friday meeting between Pakistani national security adviser Sartaj Aziz and Afghan ambassador Umer Daudzai, Ahmadi told Reuters. It involved a form of federalism and ceding power in some Afghan provinces to the Taliban.

The suggestion dashed hopes of a reset in the relationship between the South Asian neighbours following the election of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif last month.

It also suggests a visit by British Prime David Cameron to the region at the weekend to promote the Afghan-Pakistan relationship as well as peace talks with the Taliban had failed before he had even arrived.

"We believe this federalism is a means for the Pakistanis to achieve what they could not achieve through their proxy (the Taliban) on the battlefield," Ahmadi said.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/07/01/uk-afghanistan-pakistan-idUKBRE9600IL20130701

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/07/01/uk-afghanistan-pakistan-idUKBRE9600IL20130701

[Comrade Grumpy]

1. There are two negotiating tracks aimed at precisely that.

One between the Taliban and the US.

One between the Taliban and the Karzai government.

Or they can continue fighting.

[Igel]

2. Sharif and Chaudhry know where their power base lies.

Politician or jurist, they're often the same thing. And for them, it's in the conservative Muslim masses, not the effete educated "liberals."

Heck, even the "liberal" jurists were all for helping Islamists when Musharraf was in power.

Sharif's administration not back the Taliban, even if it's "support lite"?

Don't have to like Karzai to not like the Taliban.