Afghan peace efforts ‘stumbling’

Afghan government efforts to bring the Taliban into peace talks are stumbling and bold steps were needed to ensure that a council spearheading the process can win the trust of insurgents, said a presidential adviser yesterday.

Assadullah Wafa also expressed concern that Afghans, who have been subjected to one conflict after another, were losing hope that peace was possible from a process that so far has been shrouded in secrecy and conflicting views of likely success.

The government has made some contacts with the Taliban, who have made a comeback after being toppled by a US invasion in 2001, but there are no signs that full-fledged peace talks will happen anytime soon.