Taliban are under pressue; no need to negotiate with them now.: Taliban are clearly under pressure from both sides of the border. Particularly on the Pakistani side of the border, there are clear signs that Taliban are fast losing the support of ordinary citizens including Pashtuns in the tribal area.

Talking to the Taliban: Implications for Pakistan: The talk in Afghanistan of sitting down with the Afghan Taliban and thrashing out a solution to the conflict is now overt. To nudge the initiative forward, the Governor of NWFP, Mr Owais Ghani, has reiterated his earlier stance

Talking to Mullah Umar and Hekmatyar?: The NWFP Governor, Mr Owais Ghani, has asked the United States “to talk to Mullah Omar, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Jalaluddin Haqqani, to negotiate peace in Afghanistan”. His contention is that “political stability will only come to Afghanistan when all