Q: How seriously can we take the talks taking place in Murree?

A: These talks are very important and of a serious nature, especially for Pakistan, as this is the first time that Pakistan is holding such talks on its soil.

Earlier, a dialogue was brokered by Pakistan in Urumqi, China, which was attended by Mulla Abdur Jalil, Mulla Hassan, etc who are all based in Pakistan.

As a historic round of talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government kicks off for the first time on Pakistani soil, Dawn asks noted analyst and journalist Rahimullah Yusufzai for some context on the significance of these talks and the seriousness of both sides involved.

While the situation in the region seems to be changing in many respects, the success of these talks may pave the way for greater dialogue in Afghanistan and could offer an opportunity for talks with all Taliban groups.

Q: Considering that the Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid distanced the Afghan Taliban from the meeting held in China, will this round be opposed by some faction of the Taliban or are they all in favour of these talks?

A: Zabiullah Mujahid statement from the Urumqi talks was very similar and he had said that the Taliban’s Political Commission was the one authorised to hold such talks.

The commission is based in Qatar and is not part of the Murree talks, but at the same time there is no insult to those who are part of the talks, nor has there been any threat to any of the parties involved.

This shows that Pakistani and Afghan authorities can ask Qatar to use its influence to bring the Political Commission to future rounds, or these commanders may go to Qatar to talk to the Political Commission there.

Since there is direct threat or decree against the talks or any of the parties involved, this shows that the Taliban are not opposed to them as much as they were a couple of years ago.

Q: Can one safely assume that the commanders in the field will be in favour of the talks?

A: The current talks and maybe some more following rounds will decide the future course. There was a successful exchange of prisoners after Qatar conference and Pakistan has gained confidence to hold talks in Murree this shows that the ice was melting. The Afghan government could ask the Taliban what they will do for the country and it is expected that Taliban will be asking the same questions from their government.

Q:Why were the talk shifted to Pakistan considering that earlier meetings were held in Qatar, or even China?

A: The talks are in Pakistan because Pakistan can pressurise these groups, as they are said to be based here. But the encouraging thing is that the Afghan government has shown a pro-active stance. In the past, there were serious differences between Pakistan and Hamid Karzai, possibly because he was too close to India, but the policies of Ashraf Ghani towards Taliban and Pakistan are different. These are the first rounds of talks and only the Pakistan-based Taliban are involved in them, therefore it is mainly due to pressure from Pakistan that these groups are holding talks with Afghan side.

Published in Dawn, July 9th, 2015

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