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Full Article Images of December Best photos of the year Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Subculture of Americans prepares for civilization's collapse 21 Jan 2012 Senator Paul refuses airport patdown after alarm 4:15pm EST Romney puts Gingrich on defensive before debate | 4:21pm EST Iran slams EU oil embargo and warns could hit U.S. | 4:14pm EST Russia alarmed by EU ban on Iranian oil, sanctions 10:47am EST Discussed 292 Subculture of Americans prepares for civilization’s collapse 117 Supreme Court rejects judge-drawn Texas election maps 115 Obama set to reject Keystone oil pipeline: sources Watched Angelina Jolie fascinated by "bizarre" Republican presidential race Sun, Jan 22 2012 New footage shows dangers faced by Italian police rescue divers Sat, Jan 21 2012 A dangerous walk to school Fri, Jan 20 2012 U.S. and Afghan officials flexible on peace, outlawed group says Tweet Share this Email Print Related News U.S. envoy says no decision on Taliban transfers Sun, Jan 22 2012 France threatens Afghan pullout after troops killed Fri, Jan 20 2012 Marine tape reaction sets Taliban fighters against commanders Fri, Jan 20 2012 Exclusive: Pakistan-U.S. ties on hold for "re-evaluation" Thu, Jan 19 2012 Tiny Qatar wielding powerful political punch Wed, Jan 18 2012 Analysis & Opinion The limits of the Pakistan-China alliance The world according to Romney Related Topics World » Afghanistan » By Kamal Sadaat KHOST | Mon Jan 23, 2012 2:31pm EST KHOST (Reuters) - U.S. and Afghan officials have shown flexibility in secret talks with one of Afghanistan's most notorious insurgent factions in the hope it will help end the country's long war, a negotiator for the outlawed Hizb-i-Islami group said Monday. Ghairat Baheer, the son-in-law of Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, told Reuters he had held exploratory talks with CIA director David Petraeus, the former commander of coalition forces in Afghanistan. Despite Hekmatyar's branding as a "terrorist" by the U.S. State Department for supporting Taliban and al Qaeda attacks, Baheer said he had also met face-to-face in the last three weeks with U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker in Kabul, as well as the NATO chief in Afghanistan, U.S. General John Allen. "We had exchanges of views with the people and it was productive. We are fully open to any peace efforts and our aim is to bring peace and stability in Afghanistan," Baheer said by phone from neighboring Pakistan. A spokesman for the U.S. embassy in Kabul declined to confirm American contact with Hizb-i-Islami, saying only that Washington had "a broad range of contacts across Afghanistan and the region to support Afghan reconciliation efforts." But another U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters Petraeus and Baheer met once last year when Petraeus commanded NATO forces in Afghanistan. "As COMISAF, with President Karzai's approval and together with a senior Afghan official, he did meet with Baheer in July 2011. He has not met with Baheer or anyone else from Hekmatyar's team since," the official said. The United States has been holding exploratory talks with the Taliban, seen as the best chance of ending the war that began with the U.S.-led invasion of the country 10 years ago, for more than a year. Hizb-i-Islami, which means Islamic Party, is a radical militant group which shares some of the Taliban's anti-foreigner, anti-government aims, and has widespread national support. Hekmatyar, a former Afghan prime minister, is a fierce rival of the Taliban's leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, and became a hero to many Afghans while leading mujahideen fighters against the Soviet occupation of the country in the 1980s. In the early 1990s, forces led by Hekmatyar opposed to the government of then-president Burhanuddin Rabbani took part in fighting in Kabul which is thought to have killed tens of thousands. Hekmatyar quit Afghanistan in the mid-1990s, and his whereabouts have been unclear since then. BROADENING SCOPE OF TALKS Hizb-i-Islami says it has thousands of fighters opposing U.S. and international forces based mainly in Afghanistan's restive east, bordering Pakistan, and in the north. Afghan President Hamid Karzai said at the weekend he had met with a Hizb-i-Islami delegation for talks about broadening the scope of nascent peace talks with the Taliban, a tactic which U.S. officials acknowledge is vital for any peace process to take root. The Taliban weeks ago offered to open a political office in Qatar to smooth the way for peace talks with the United States and other countries, in return for the release of five Taliban from U.S. custody at Guantanamo Bay. Marc Grossman, the U.S. special envoy to the region, said on Sunday no decision had been taken on their release, billed by the Taliban as a confidence-building measure, and the Taliban had first to renounce militancy. Baheer, who was held in U.S. detention at Bagram Air Field, north of Kabul, for six years until his 2008 release, said he had "noticed flexibility" on both the U.S. and Afghan side on his demands for a more representative government in Kabul when fighting ended. "We are not after power. We have presented our plan. We are optimistic that the results of our meeting are productive," he said. (Additional reporting by Tabassum Zakaria in WASHINGTON; Writing by Rob Taylor; Editing by Janet Lawrence) World Afghanistan Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. 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