Columnist

With levels of violence rising in Afghanistan and intra-Afghan negotiations in Doha deadlocked since two months, scattered calls for boycotting peace talks with the Taliban have been raised. 

Former Mujahideen leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar was the latest among Afghan politicians invited to visit Pakistan as part of Islamabad’s new policy to reach out to important stakeholders in the Afghan peace process-- in its bid to improve bilateral relations.

Though the intra-Afghan negotiations resumed recently in Doha after a frustrating break of nearly two weeks, there is no word yet about any chance of an understanding even on certain basic issues such as the rules of procedures.

The lack of progress in the intra-Afghan negotiations that began more than three weeks ago in Doha, Qatar has become a cause of concern and prompted the US to offer mediation between the Afghan government and Taliban.

Afghanistan's first Vice President Amrullah Saleh survived a roadside bomb explosion that targeted his convoy in Kabul on Wednesday. Questions are rising now whether peace talks with the Taliban — already delayed several times — will begin, as planned, in the coming days.

For years Islamabad kept complaining that militants escaping its military operations in Pakistan's northwestern region had found refuge in Afghanistan and were using its territory to plan and execute cross-border attacks.   

While both the Afghan government and Taliban continue to maintain that they are ready to start the crucial intra-Afghan negotiations, just a week after the completion of a promised prisoners’ exchange program, the two groups are yet to take the steps required to complete the process.