National reconciliation
Karzai will hold talks with Abdullah on “national reconciliation in Afghanistan and in the region” during his visit, the presidential palace in Kabul said in a statement on Wednesday.
His is also expected to summon a “loya jirga”, or grand council of elders and influential figures, in the near future.
Hussein Shobokshi, a Saudi columnist for the Alsharq Alawsat newspaper, told Al Jazeera recently that there are elements in the Taliban who believe it is time for serious dialogue with the Kabul government to find a peaceful solution to the problems.
Taliban leaders have insisted, however, that all Western forces must withdraw from Afghanistan before they will agree to talks.
Karzai rejected that precondition on Sunday, saying the Taliban should strive for peace first so that the troops can leave.
Nato and the US have 113,000 troops in Afghanistan fighting al-Qaeda and Taliban-led fighters, who are seeking to overthrow the government.
Foreign troops have been in Afghanistan since 2001 when the US and UK invaded the country in order to remove the Taliban, who were accused of harbouring al-Qaeda operatives, from power.
But Taliban and al-Qaeda have both regrouped since then and continue to launch attacks.
‘First foreign patrons’
Speaking to Al Jazeera on Tuesday from Jeddah, Robert Lacey, an expert on Saudi politics, said involving Riyadh’s in peace efforts with the Taliban would help significantly.
“The Saudis were the first foreign patrons of the Taliban. [The Saudis] welcomed them and saw them as the new way ahead and liked their austere religious attitude,” he said.
“The Saudis were also the very first government along with the United Arab Emirates [and Pakistan] to recognise the Taliban.”
Lacey said everyone would like the Taliban to help catch Osama bin Laden and publicly say that they are not his hosts.
“If they [the Taliban] do that genuinely, that is one step forward in progress,” he said.
“[After all] it was only when bin Laden came into the picture that things started going wrong.”
Source: Al Jazeera
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