A delegation of Afghanistan's High Council for Peace - set up earlier this year by the Karzai government to hold talks with Taliban-led insurgents in the hope of a negotiated end to the conflict - will visit Pakistan next week.
The delegation will be led by its chairman and former Afghanistan President Burhanuddin Rabbani. This was announced here on Thursday by Foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit. While sidestepping a question on whether the visit was confirmation that Afghanistan officially wanted Pakistan to play a role in the negotiations, he reiterated that Islamabad would always support an Afghanistan-led process towards reconciliation and reintegration.
Stating that this would be the first visit of the High Council for Peace to Pakistan since it was set up, he added: ``We are looking forward to intensive discussions with the delegation and Prof. Rabbani. Pakistan will continue to support and help in whatever way the Afghanistan government wants us to help.''
The 68-member Peace Council was set up in October this year by Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai with the authority of the peace jirga held in June. A Tajik, Prof. Rabbani led one of the mujahideen factions during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and went on to become the President in the 1990s before the Taliban took over.
