Anand Gopal

Kabul may have tried to reach out to current insurgents by meeting with former ones in Saudi Arabia last month.

Kabul, Afghanistan - The Taliban are not engaged in peace talks with the Afghan government, despite recent reports to the contrary, say sources close to the insurgents and the government.

Instead, meetings held last month in Saudi Arabia – which brought former Taliban officials together with members of the Afghan and Saudi governments – may be an attempt by Kabul to start negotiations with the current Taliban.

“The meetings signal that the Afghan government is weak and is desperate for a solution,” says Waheed Muzhda, a political analyst in Kabul and former official in the Taliban government.

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