Pakistani PM, Qatar to discuss peace deal

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistan's prime minister will travel to Qatar this week to talk with leaders there about the prospect of a peace deal to end the war in Afghanistan, a government official said Saturday, a trip that suggests some progress in a process long stymied by mistrust.

Afghan Taliban leaders last month announced they would set up a political office in Qatar, which was seen as a major development in efforts to end an 11-year war that is taking an ever increasing toll on civilians. According to latest UN statistics, more than 3,000 Afghan civilians died in the war in 2011, the deadliest year on record for civilians in the conflict.

Neither side, or regional governments with an interest in Afghanistan, have talked in detail about what shape any deal might take. The Afghan Taliban, far from defeated and convinced the U.S. and Western nations are losing the stomach to fight, will presumably demand a de-facto control over much of the country -- assuming it agrees to take part in substantive talks.

The trip by Prime Minister Yousuf Reza Gilani on Monday comes amid unease in Kabul and Islamabad over the Taliban decision to open the Qatar office. Officials in both countries have said they fear they are being left out of the early stages of the peace process.

Pakistan is an important player in moves to end the war because many of the leaders of the insurgency are said to be sheltering on its territory. The country's security forces are alleged to have links with the militants that could be useful in bringing them to the negotiating table.

Western officials, who have accused Pakistan of sponsoring militants behind attacks in Afghanistan, also says the country has the potential to wreck any peace deal if it is not involved. Pakistan's army wants to ensure that any post U.S. regime in Afghanistan is hostile to India, which it regards as an existential threat.-- AP