The Taliban now control most of Afghanistan - and may soon share power, says robert fox |
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President Karzai of Afghanistan has announced that six years after the Taliban were driven out of power in Kabul, representatives of the hardline Muslim movement are 'increasingly' approaching him for talks.
It has been pretty clear that Karzai and his clan have been talking to Taliban leaders for months, possibly more than a year. What his announcement hints at is that some sort of power-sharing deal is in the wind.
Interestingly, after the first reports of the talks had been transmitted by Reuters last week, there was no immediate follow-up from the BBC and the New York Times, both of whom have resident correspondents in Kabul. It suggests that the Afghan president was told to cool it by Washington and London.
Karzai's announcement of the contacts with the Taliban is a clear warning. It is no longer a case of confidence among Karzai's |
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A report published last week said that 54 per cent of Afghan territory is now under Taliban control
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international sponsors wavering; spectacularly, he has lost trust in them and is seeking his own, very Afghan, way out of the predicament.
Despite the best efforts of the Americans and British forces, supported by the Canadians, Australians and Dutch among others, the chances of Karzai's government continuing in its present form, let alone extending its authority to beyond the capital, are getting less favourable by the day.
The Senlis Council, a European think-tank, said in a report published last week that 54 per cent of Afghan territory is now under Taliban control. This figure is hard to measure in the shifting sands of tribal, militia and criminal loyalties that cover most of the country, but Senlis's survey methods are sophisticated.
More to the point is the map produced by Senlis showing the spread of violent incidents and terrorist attacks across Afghanistan and Waziristan. They are now radiating right across the territory with dozens north of the Hindu Kush in non-Pashtun areas. Not 
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