Holbrooke of Afpakia

In a 13 May 2009 post (“Af-Pak” War Plans: Two Weeks Later) it had been concluded that faced with a growing realisation that a defeat at the hands of the Taliban in Afghanistan is inevitable, the American military leadership had decided to hand over Afghanistan (or major areas thereof) to the Afghan-Taleban; the only dispute being on whether this was to be with (Gen. Petraeus) or without (President Obama) a cobbled together governance structure. With the disastrous mismanagement of the Afghan elections, even the more modest goal of “good enough” governance (senator Kerry) may have been abandoned, as the Americans begin negotiations with the Taleban (as reported in the stories below).

Holbrooke confirms talks with Taliban

LAHORE: The United States is not directly talking to the Afghan Taliban, US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke said on Monday. He said elections in Afghanistan were not perfect but Washington would continue to support the Afghan government, adding that the US was not in direct contact with the Afghan Taliban. Holbrooke said US would support composite dialogue between Pakistan and India but will not act as a mediator, a private news channel reported on Monday. daily times monitor. (Emphases added.)

In another story, the Daily Times elaborates:
America in secret dialogue with Afghan Taliban

 TV channel claims Saudis, Pakistanis, Afghan leaders assisting talks * Crucial meeting possible after Eidul Azha

Daily Times Monitor

LAHORE: The Obama administration is engaging the Afghan Taliban in secret talks with the help of Britain, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, a private TV channel reported on Monday.

According to the channel, sources said that eight years after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, the US was engaging top Afghan Taliban leaders in talks.

Abdullah Ans, son-in-law of Abdullah Azaam, who is Osama Bin Ladin’s mentor and the main proponent of the philosophy of jihad; a Saudi resident identified as Abul Hasan Maddi, who is also a key member of Rata Alam-e-Islami; and an Iraqi national identified as Abu Jood Mehmood Samrai have been involved in the secret talks.

In addition to these people, Harkatul Mujahideen chief Fazalur Rehman Khalil is also assisting in the talks, said the channel. The channel reported that these people were engaging the Taliban in Afghanistan, and they may have crucial meeting in Afghanistan after Eidul Azha.

The sources said the Saudi and Pakistani authorities were also trying to engage the Taliban in talks.

Taliban leader Mullah Omar has nominated his shadow foreign minister, Agha Muhtisam, to hold negotiations on behalf of the Taliban. The channel said the Americans – who now wanted to resolve the Afghan crisis through talks – were not directly talking to the Afghan Taliban.

The daily, Dawn confirms:
By Azaz Syed | Tuesday, 24 Nov, 2009

ISLAMABAD: After fighting a bloody war in Afghanistan for more than eight years, the United States appears to have undertaken a re-think of its policy and has started engaging the Taliban in negotiations through Saudi and Pakistani intelligence agencies, highly-placed sources told Dawn here on Monday.

‘We have started ‘engagement’ with the Afghan Taliban and are hopeful that our efforts will bear fruit,’ a source involved in secret negotiations told this correspondent.

He said that four ‘major neutral players’ were engaged with the Afghan Taliban on behalf of the Saudi leadership and the General Intelligence Directorate (GID) of Saudi Arabia and the Pakistani leadership and Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).

The GID and ISI have been doing the job on behalf of the US government and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The source said that one of the main objectives of the recent visit to Pakistan by CIA chief Leon Panetta was to assess progress in the back-channel negotiations.

The source said that four leaders were playing the role of mediators on behalf of the Saudis and the Afghan Taliban.

Among them is Abdullah Anas, a son-in-law of Osama bin Laden’s mentor Abdullah Azzam who was killed in Peshawar in 1989 along with his two sons. Anas lives in the UK, but maintains close links with the Afghan Taliban and even Al Qaida.

Saudi national Abul Hassan Madni, once a prominent leader of Rabta-i-Alam-i-Islami, has also been in the picture. He lives in Madina.

Abu Jud Mehmood Samrai, an Iraqi who is married to a Pakistani woman, has also been contacted. He was given Pakistani nationality by former president Ziaul Haq for his role in the Afghan war.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman Khalil, a Pakistani militant leader, is also in the loop. Khalil, who co-founded the Harkatul Ansar, currently heads Hizbul Mujahideen.

He had signed the famous decree issued by Osama bin Laden and Ayman Al Zawahiri in 1998 calling for killing the Americans. Khalil commands respect among both Pakistani and Afghani Taliban and is said to have played a secret mediatory role with Pakistani authorities for peace in the country.

Reliable sources also told Dawn that Mullah Umar, the chief of Afghan Taliban, has nominated his shadow foreign minister, Agha Motasam, to negotiate with the Americans. They said that talks held so far were of a preliminary nature, but may resume on a serious note after Eid.

Reported by Dawn, Karachi