Taliban arrests hurt talks, Eide says

OSLO, Norway, March 19 (UPI) -- The former U.N. envoy to Afghanistan says recent arrests of key Taliban leaders by Palestinians have choked off a communications channel with U.N. officials.

Kai Eide said he began secret discussions with senior Taliban officials about a year ago, and now many lines of communication with the Taliban exist, some involving senior representatives of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the BBC reported Friday.

Eide's comments lend credence to a growing sentiment that some members of the Taliban leadership were open to negotiating an end to the war, the BBC said.

In February and March, Pakistan arrested at least four high-ranking Taliban officials.

"The effect of (the arrests), in total, certainly, was negative on our possibilities to continue the political process that we saw as so necessary at that particular juncture," Eide said in an interview at his home near Oslo, Norway.

A senior adviser to Karzai also told the BBC the arrests affected the negotiation process, noting his government's contacts with the Taliban picked up in recent months.

Eide said he hoped an upcoming "peace jirga," or assembly of tribal elders, called by Karzai would help forge the type of agreement needed to reach consensus on ending the war.

"This has to be an Afghan process," Eide said.