Taliban with their black turbans and white clothes:

Talking to the Taliban

Afghan politicians increasingly believe negotiations with the ousted Taliban regime are the key to peace

everyone - from Karzai to party leaders like Ahmad Shah Ahmadzai - seems ready to negotiate, what's stopping the talks?

According to Mullah Zaif, ex-Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, it's the foreign troops. In a recent interview with Quqnoos news website, Zaif said: "As long as the foreign troops are here, negotiations with the government will be difficult."

the Taliban claim foreigners operate scot-free in Afghanistan and that you can't trust a government that lets this happen

Taliban fear that if they enter into negotiations, there'll be no guarantee that Nato will stop bombing them

Karzai has no control over the troops and they can't be held accountable for their actions in Afghanistan

this is a serious risk and as long as the risk persists, holding talks is going to be a challenge