The May 2 killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, which is believed to be home to the Taliban's senior leaders, has led to increased demands in Washington for an accelerated end to the costly, unpopular war. — File Photo

LONDON: The United States and its allies are hoping to accelerate efforts this year to reach a political settlement in Afghanistan as they seek to gradually withdraw combat troops and end the decade-long war.

The May 2 killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, which is believed to be home to the Taliban's senior leaders, has led to increased demands in Washington for an accelerated end to the costly, unpopular war.

Washington has also begun direct talks with elements of the Taliban but an early breakthrough appears unlikely.

Officials caution the talks should not be compared to peace negotiations which have ended insurgencies elsewhere. They describe instead a complex process of bringing together the weak Afghan government, parts of a very fragmented insurgency and other Afghan stakeholders.

On Wednesday, British Prime Minister David Cameron said the United States and Britain would intensify efforts to push a peace process ahead in coming months.

Here are some details on where talks stand:

Who is involved in peace talks?

There are many different strands to the talks. They include attempts to re-integrate individual fighters and commanders into the political process, as well as broader reconciliation efforts to reach out to insurgent leaders.

Last year, the government of President Hamid Karzai, who has held off-and-on preliminary talks with the Taliban in recent years, set up a High Peace Council that aims to lay the basis for peace negotiations.

Former President Burhanuddin Rabbani, who headed a faction that fought the Taliban during Afghanistan's civil war and presided over some of the country's bloodiest fighting, is leading those efforts.

But Karzai has faced splits within his own government over the peace drive, which prompted his then-intelligence chief to resign last year.

Officials from governments involved in Afghanistan insist any reconciliation must be Afghan-led. They also say they are not looking at a straightforward power-sharing agreement between the Afghan government and insurgents, but a much wider process which would bring all Afghan parties into a broad political settlement.

The United States also has begun direct talks with representatives of the Afghan Taliban movement led by Mullah Mohammed Omar, known in Washington as the Quetta Shura Taliban, according to official sources from three different countries.

The United States, which shortly will begin bringing some of its 100,000 soldiers home from Afghanistan, has made few public comment on the talks. The Taliban has denied it is involved in peace talks.

The lead US official for reconciliation is Marc Grossman, the low-profile diplomat who became President Barack Obama's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan when predecessor Richard Holbrooke died last year.

Diplomats in Kabul say Grossman's mandate has been narrowed to focus on reconciliation and the talks.

What are conditions for a settlement?

The United States has said any settlement which brings insurgents back into the political process must include a renunciation of violence, an end to ties with al Qaeda, and support for the Afghan constitution.

However, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in February that these are not preconditions to talks, but expected outcomes of any negotiations.

Officials have said bin Laden's death could make it easier for the Taliban to break with al Qaeda.

The Taliban movement, which ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, has already said it would not allow Afghanistan to be used to harm other countries, a statement interpreted by some analysts as a sign of willingness to break with al Qaeda.

The Taliban, however, have publicly rejected any talks until foreign troops leave Afghanistan. Their representatives are expected to insist on the imposition of Sharia law in Afghanistan and for a powerful role in any future political set-up in the country.

What is happening now?

US officials began meeting Taliban representatives toward the end of last year, the first direct talks between the two since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

No details have come out on those talks, described as preliminary rather than substantive negotiations.

Der Spiegel magazine reported this week that Germany had hosted two rounds of talks between “mid-ranking officials from the Obama administration” and representatives of Mullah Omar.

Germany will hold a major international conference on Afghanistan near Bonn in December.

Der Spiegel said the current talks revolved around the possible establishment of US military bases in Afghanistan after it withdraws combat troops, an idea rejected by the Taliban, but now being negotiated with the Afghan government.

What are potential obstacles?

One of the major challenges is the fragmented nature of Afghanistan's insurgency. Unlike a national liberation movement, the Taliban does not have the ability to deliver all insurgents into a peace settlement.

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