November 19, 2008	Wednesday	Ziqa'ad 20, 1429

KABUL, Nov 18: Afghan government representatives and former members of the Taliban are expected to meet in Saudi Arabia soon for talks on ways to end the war in Afghanistan, an Afghan government official said on Tuesday.

The senior official, with knowledge of meetings on negotiations with the Taliban, said President Hamid Karzai, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and President Asif Ali Zardari had discussed the effort on the sidelines of a UN conference in New York last week.

A tentative first step towards talks was taken in September when pro-government Afghan officials and former Taliban met in Saudi Arabia.

The Taliban derided the talks and have said repeatedly they would not enter negotiations as long as foreign troops remained in Afghanistan.

Nevertheless, the September meeting offered a glimmer of hope of ending an intensifying Taliban insurgency that has raised fears for Afghanistan’s prospects and western efforts to establish peace and build a stable state.

The government official declined to be identified and also declined to give any details of the talks or say when they would be held.

“It is expected very much to be held in Saudi Arabia again,” he said. “Talks will not bear fruit when held in an open manner. This is an ongoing process and we will announce the results when there is a breakthrough.”

He said he did not know if the Taliban would send a representative. “It is not clear, but when peace is the aim, then all should be present.”

With the spread of Taliban insurgency more than seven years on since their overthrow and no sight of an end to the conflict, the possibility of talks with the insurgents is being considered by Karzai’s government and his western allies.

Karzai says the Taliban demand that foreign troops leave is unacceptable but he repeated on Sunday an offer to talk to Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, who carries a $10 million US bounty on his head and is seen as close to Osama bin Laden.

The Taliban rejected the offer.

Analysts say the government and its Western allies are hoping to draw moderate Taliban, or perhaps opportunistic commanders, into talks to isolate Al Qaeda and their hardline supporters.

The Taliban threatened to launch attacks in Paris unless France pulled its troops out of Afghanistan, in a video aired by Al Arabiya television on Monday.

The video also claimed an ambush that killed 10 French troops in August was carried out by the Taliban. It was not clear when the recording, which included footage of insurgents wearing uniforms of the French soldiers they had killed, was made.—Reuters