By IRNA,
Berlin : The new head of the German army union, Ulrich Kirsch called for a dialogue with moderate Taliban political forces, press reports said Thursday.
Kirsch who heads the Bundeswehrverband, the army’s quasi trade union, which represents around 65 percent of German soldiers, stressed the urgent need for a rapprochement with “moderate Taliban forces.” The German government had in the past signaled green light for political talks with the radical Afghan militia.
In September 2007, Germany’s Ambassador to Afghanistan Hans- Ulrich Seidt met reportedly with Taliban’s former foreign minister, Wakil Ahmad Mutawakil who emphasized “many commonalties” with the German government.
The Taliban official had urged Berlin to help secure the release of political prisoners in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, Germany’s BND foreign intelligence service held secret talks with the Taliban for several months in 2005 aimed at finding out whether the radical Afghan militia was ready to severe ties with the al-Qaeda terror network.
The BND was reportedly ready to offer its assistance for civilian Afghan reconstruction projects like building hospitals and mosques, if the Taliban group were to distance itself from al-Qaeda.
The chancellery was reportedly informed of the secret meetings which took place in various places across Europe, including an unnamed Swiss luxury hotel.
According to BND, the Taliban sent “mid-level” officials to the talks which were broken off in late summer of 2005 after the Taliban representatives could not prove that they were authorized to negotiate on behalf of their leader Mullah Omar.