Context
Pakistani authorities are concerned over America’s “selective approach” in peace negotiations with the Taliban in Afghanistan and want other militant groups besides the one headed by Mullah Omar to be included in the talks. Both Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the US confirmed during the weekend that talks with the Taliban are going on but it would require some time before a deal could be struck. But peace initiatives so far have only been limited to the Mullah Omar-led faction. Other militant groups such as Gulbadin Hekmatyar’s “Hizb-e-Islami” and the North-Waziristan based Haqqani network that controls Nuristan and Kunar provinces have not been included.
