Pakistan PM in Kabul, backs Taliban talks

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif yesterday said he supported Afghan efforts to seek peace with the Taliban as he visited Kabul for talks with President Hamid Karzai.
The one-day visit was Sharif's first since he took office in May and came as Karzai is locked in a public dispute with Washington over a security deal covering the role of US soldiers who remain in Afghanistan after next year.
"The key to sustainable peace in Afghanistan in 2014 and beyond is an inclusive political settlement," Sharif told a press conference in Kabul.
"I... urge all the stakeholders to seize this moment and join hands to support peace efforts," he said. "It is imperative to reverse the destructive cycle of conflict.
Pakistan is seen as crucial to peace in neighbouring Afghanistan as it was a key backer of the hardline 1996-2001 Taliban regime in Kabul and is believed to shelter some of the movement's leaders.