Pakistan approaching Taliban factions for Afghan peace talks

Pakistan on Thursday said it is approaching all factions of Taliban and other groups to bring them to negotiating table for the direct peace talks with the Afghan government.

The comments came days after Afghan, Pakistani, Chinese and U.S. officials agreed to facilitate the direct talks between the Afghan government, Taliban groups and Hizb-e-Islami by the first week of March.

Pakistan will host the talks, according to a joint statement issued at the conclusion of the 4th meeting of the Quadrilateral Coordination Group.

"All Taliban factions had been invited to participate through their authorized representatives in the first round of direct peace talks, expected to take place in March's first week in Islamabad," Pakistan's Foreign Office Spokesman Mohammad Nafees Zakaria said at his weekly media briefing.

The Taliban spokesman has told section of the media that the group's political office and the central leaders are unaware of the talks offer. Hizb-e-Islami's political affairs in-charge Ghairat Baheer says his group is considering the talks offer.

The Pakistani spokesman said it was decided with consensus that the talks under the QCG process will be without pre-conditions.

"All four countries that constitute the QCG have a joint responsibility to move the reconciliation process forward and make a direct dialogue between the Afghan government and various Taliban groups and others possible," Zakaria said.

He said all the four countries involved in the Quadrilateral reconciliation process share responsibility to approach the Taliban/Afghan factions who are to be invited for the talks.