In a letter published in The Financial Times Wednesday, Mian Qadrud-Din, former additional Foreign Secretary, commented on a recent editorial of the newspaper, saying he was encouraged that it had described the Taliban "a distinct indigenous movement", no longer conflated with al-Qaeda.

"The focus should now turn to the real nature of the conflict: a civil war, which is best resolved by political means," wrote Qadrud-Din, who also served as Director for Public Affairs at the United Nations.

"This calls for bold initiatives that bring together the government in Kabul with Taliban leaders," he added. At the initial stages, Qadrud-Din said the US and Pakistan, and later other states that share borders with Afghanistan could act in support of agreements that emerge, establishing balanced political and security structures in Kabul where the major ethnic groups are represented proportionately.

"Such agreements could, where necessary, also receive the backing of the permanent members of the UN Security Council," he wrote." Moreover, a key aspect of the agreements would be the assured expeditious departure of all foreign forces something the US should welcome."

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011