Pak to try to bring Taliban to negotiation table: Qureshi - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said Islamabad would use its influence to bring the Afghan Taliban leadership to the negotiation table, and also play its role in helping allied forces led by the US to pull out of Afghanistan. Qureshi said Pakistan is ready to provide training facilities to the Afghan Army and police force. He said a majority of Taliban commanders were ready for peace talks. “There are only a few people from Taliban leadership who have not undergone a change in their thinking so far, whereas a majority of them have changed their views and are now prepared to make peace with the government,” The Nation quoted Qureshi, as saying. Qureshi said developing good relations with Afghanistan was the only way to defuse Indian influence in the war tattered country. He said the Afghan leadership understands that time is ripe for Kabul to distance itself from New Delhi and draw near to Islamabad . “The Afghan President ( Hamid Karzai ) did not say a word against Pakistan in London conference which point to the change in thinking,” Qureshi said. Replying to a question, Qureshi rebuked the notion about Pakistan that it had initiated military operations in the tribal regions on America ’s dictation, saying there were a number of people in those areas who had harmed the country.