Islamabad:
As part of a re-think of its policy on Afghanistan, the US has started engaging the Afghan-Taliban in negotiations through Saudi and Pakistani intelligence agencies, a media report here said on Tuesday.
A source involved in the secret negotiations told Dawn News channel that an engagement had been started with the Afghan-Taliban and all parties involved were "hopeful" that their efforts will bear fruit.
Four "major neutral players" had engaged the Afghan-Taliban on behalf of the Saudi and Pakistani leadership and the General Intelligence Directorate (GID) of Saudi Arabia and
the Pakistan's ISI, the source claimed. The GID and ISI are acting on behalf of the US administration and the CIA.
One of the main objectives of the recent visit to Pakistan by CIA chief Leon Panetta was to assess progress in the back-channel parleys, according to the source.
Four leaders were playing the role of mediators on behalf of the Saudis and the Afghan Taliban.
Among them is Pakistani militant leader Fazlur Rehman Khalil, who co-founded the Harkatul Ansar and currently heads the Hizbul Mujahideen. Khalil commands respect among both
Pakistani and Afghan-Taliban and is said to have played a secret mediatory role with Pakistani authorities for restoring peace in the country.
Abdullah Anas, a son-in-law of Osama bin Laden's mentor Abdullah Azzam who was killed in Peshawar in 1989, is also part of the talks. Anas lives in Britain but maintains close links with the Afghan-Taliban and Al-Qaida.