Pakistan Demands Role in Afghan Peace Talks

Pakistani security officials say they’re frustrated that they haven’t been invited to participate in Afghan/Taliban peace talks, warning that no peace deal will succeed without their involvement. In interviews with the Washington Post ISI officials say the US hasn’t even told them which Taliban leaders are involved in talks, and say they’re annoyed about reports that Mullah Mohammad Omar—whom American officials believe is under the ISI’s thumb—has been excluded.

“If that’s true, we believe it would be a fatal mistake, because the Taliban supreme commander still holds sway over the ranks of the Taliban and no one could defy him,” one brigadier general says. Other ISI officials expressed skepticism that the talks were even occurring. “The American government is hard-pressed to show the American public that they have achieved something” ahead of the midterm elections,” said one official. “All this is primarily about that.” (More ISI stories.)