Pakistanis Try to Nudge Taliban Along the Path to Peace Talks With Kabul

KABUL, Afghanistan — Pakistan’s top military and intelligence officials have begun pressing the Taliban to sit down for face-to-face discussions with the Afghan government, potentially opening a path for direct peace talks for the first time since the start of the American-led invasion in 2001, according to Western and Afghan officials briefed on the discussions.

In meetings in Kabul this week, the Pakistani delegation, led by the nation’s army chief of staff, told Afghan leaders that the Taliban appeared willing to meet for negotiations in the coming month, according to Western officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are private.

If true, that would be a sharp reversal both for the insurgents, who have fought a deadly 13-year campaign against the government, and for the Pakistani military, which has long been accused of nurturing the Afghan Taliban as proxies.

Afghan and Western officials cautioned that efforts to bring the insurgent group to the table still face major hurdles. Among them is securing the blessing of the Taliban’s reclusive spiritual leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar, who has not been seen since the start of the war and whose approval is a precondition for talks. As well, the ability of the Pakistani officials to secure the participation of what has become a fractious insurgent movement also remains unclear.

Meanwhile, back in Kabul, General Sharif shared a glimpse of what many Afghans, Mr. Ghani chief among them, hope is a new policy for Pakistan.

“Enemies of Afghanistan are enemies of Pakistan,” he said during his unannounced visit to Kabul.

Ismail Khan contributed reporting from Peshawar, Pakistan.

A version of this article appears in print on February 19, 2015, on page A4 of the New York edition with the headline: Pakistanis Try to Nudge Taliban Along the Path to Peace Talks With Kabul. Order Reprints| Today’s Paper|Subscribe

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