Pakistan helped secure Taliban talks

Military says its role in brokering landmark Taliban peace talks last week proves it is serious about tackling Islamist militancy in the region. The heads of the army and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) were personally involved in bringing about talks between the Afghan Taliban and Kabul government on July 8 near Islamabad, said two senior officials close to the process.
The negotiations were a tentative first step toward ending war in neighbouring Afghanistan that kills thousands of people each year, as government forces fight Taliban insurgents whose hard-line Islamist regime was toppled in 2001. A genuine bid by Pakistan to broker peace could help stem violence, although al Qaeda and other groups are active in the region and new Islamic State offshoots add another layer of danger. The fledgling peace process may yet fail, especially since Afghan Taliban leaders are divided on talks.
Officials insist the civilian government and military recognise that Afghanistan's war threatens their own security by empowering insurgents who launch deadly attacks on their side of the border. Army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif in particular has made Afghanistan's peace process a "top foreign policy goal," said a Defence Ministry official, speaking anonymously because he was not authorised to talk to the media.
"For General Raheel, convincing Afghans to end the war is just as important as fighting anti-Pakistani militants," another senior security source said. "He is the chief who has convinced the army that the militant threat inside Pakistan is as important as the strategic tussle with India."
NEW LEADERS Several current and former officials in Afghanistan, who suspect Pakistan of funding and arming the Taliban insurgency across the border, question whether it genuinely supports dialogue. "Pakistan is taking this new step under internal and external pressure," said former Afghan interior minister Umar Daudzai. "We have to wait and see whether the step is of a tactical nature or is a genuine policy shift."
Pressure from China, a key regional ally and investor, is understood to have played a role in Pakistan's intervention, as Beijing believes militants from its restive Xinjiang region receive training in lawless areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Changes in leadership in Pakistan and Afghanistan also helped pave the way for last week's talks. And since Afghan President Ashraf Ghani took office last September, he has made improving relations with Pakistan a priority, in contrast to his predecessor Hamid Karzai.
That has led to condemnation inside Afghanistan, however. A May agreement for the ISI and Afghanistan's spy agency to share information about militants caused a political uproar.
As for India mistrust runs high, despite a meeting between the two prime ministers at a Russian summit last week. "India is very sceptical about this entire thing," said Sameer Patil, fellow for national security studies at Mumbai-based think tank Gateway House. He added Delhi felt it had been sidelined from the process. U.S. and Chinese observers attended the Taliban talks.