Conference on Afghanistan to bear no fruits

US-sponsored November 2 Istanbul Conference on Afghanistan would bear no fruits as none of major Afghan resistance groups including Taliban and Haqqani Netwrok would participate, a media report said on Tuesday.Daily ‘The Nation’ reported that the conference would not be more than an agenda setting exercise for Bonn Conference, scheduled for December 5, on Afghanistan. The report quoting diplomatic sources said that this happened because of the US antagonism towards Afghan Taliban and other groups resisting the US invasion of the country. They were of the considered view that until and unless these resistance groups were deeply engaged in the Afghan owned and Afghan-led peace and reconciliation, violence in the war torn country would not stop. The sources questioned the US triviality towards political reconciliation in Afghanistan, the fundamental approach to resolve the conflict and that could not be done without ensuring due role for Afghan Taliban in country’s future political setting. “As long as these elements are kept out of the loop, the prospects of any of the US sponsored international conferences seeking peace and stability in Afghanistan would remain remote”, sources said. On the role of Pakistan in Afghan driven reconciliation process, the sources believed it could be to a certain level and like the US it has no leverage to convince them to accept any solution.