Cynics have already flagged concern of tacit recognition of Taliban as an entity with the opening of an office. The fear is unfounded as neither Taliban claim a government nor a defined territory, thus the office does not generate such ambiguity.

Former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan Mullah Zaeef, who was unlawfully held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has attended a meeting in last October in which Pakistani and Afghan figures were also present.

While the United States, European nations, Afghanistan and Pakistan find Turkey a neutral venue for peace talks on Afghanistan, Ankara is faced with key questions rooted in the republic’s own ground realities.

The Turkish media has debated the question of holding talks with a terrorist outfit on its soil comparing with a similar kind of parleys with the notorious ‘Kurdish’ militant organization, PKK. Some ultra-nationalists, intrinsically opposed to Erdogan-led elected government in Ankara, fear Turkey one-day agreeing to PKK opening an office in a neutral country for talks. The dreaded PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has strong presence in northern Iran, Iraq and some parts of Syria too. However, apart from political point-scoring ahead of June 12 elections, there are no parallels in the PKK and Taliban. Ankara has already kept the door for political talks open for the dissidents in the Kurdish region while Afghanistan seems an altogether different ball game in the presence of multinational troops.

In Afghanistan, real challenge for Turkey stems from deep divisions within the Taliban and the presence of leaders like Gulbadin Hekmatyar who is all set to engage and exploit a situation arising out of a multinational effort to bring peace and normalcy back to his homeland.

Amidst the worst Pakistan-US standoff, President Asif Ali Zardari’s four day official visit to Turkey and summoning of the ISI chief to Ankara straight from Washington D.C reflects upon the country’s seriousness on the idea. With growing unrest in the Middle East and OBL eliminated, Pakistan seeks Turkish help for a peaceful and non-antagonistic Afghanistan. The challenge for Turkey complicates with its role of a host turning into that of a moderator with diverse and unpredictable stake-holders in the Afghan imbroglio. With the worst setback to al-Qaeda, bridge-building amongst various Taliban factions would be easier than ever before. Following the mother of all embarrassments, Pakistan has much to fix within its border than interfering on the western front.

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