ISLAMABAD: PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif is playing a key role in conjunction with Saudi Arabia in bringing about a negotiated settlement between the Taliban and the Karzai regime to pave the way for withdrawal of the US and Nato forces from Afghanistan.

“It was for this precise reason that the PML-N chief has put off his departure from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan for another two days,” an informed source told The News. According to his new programme, the PML-N chief will return home on Tuesday.

“Nawaz Sharif was invited by Saudi King Abdullah and he undertook the present visit to stay in Saudi Arabia for nearly two weeks to talk about the nitty-gritty of the peace process,” the source said.

The day the PML-N chief landed in Saudi Arabia, he had a 90-minute meeting with the Saudi monarch, the source said, adding different national and regional issues, particularly the ongoing wave of terrorist attacks in Pakistan and bloodshed in Afghanistan, were discussed in detail.

According to a US media report on Monday, secret peace talks have been held between the Afghan government and the Taliban in the Saudi Kingdom. Both sides agreed to resolve the Afghan issue through dialogue, it said.

While PML-N leaders, closely working with Nawaz Sharif, were aware of Nawaz Sharif’s objective behind his extended stay in Saudi Arabia, sources close to President Asif Zardari were oblivious of the PML-N chief’s “role” and “efforts” in bringing the warring sides on the negotiating table.

“Nawaz Sharif is serving as a bridge,” one political source said and added the PML-N chief is an “old hand” on Afghanistan. During his two stints as prime minister, Nawaz Sharif had developed good working relations with almost all the Afghan Mujahideen leaders, who were now largely irrelevant because of the fighting strength of the Taliban.

The source referred to the March 1993 Islamabad accord, which eight Afghan Mujahideen leaders had signed because of Nawaz Sharif’s efforts.Nawaz Sharif stayed just a few days in Pakistan after his return from Britain and then flew into Saudi Arabia. In London, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband had a meeting with him in which Nato forces’ operations in Afghanistan and constant failures to control the situation figured prominently.

Sources believed that the Saudi initiative in which Nawaz Sharif had his own role has the backing of Washington and London.A British general has been quoted as saying that the war in Afghanistan can’t be won. Additionally, there have been reports of willingness of Washington and London for holding talks with the Taliban, especially after the incapacitation of the Karzai regime.

One PPP leader close to President Zardari referred to a recent interview of NWFP Governor Owais Ghani, given to an American newspaper, in which he was quoted as saying that the United States should hold negotiations with Mullah Omar. He was surprised over the governor’s statement particularly when viewed in the context of Pakistan’s repeated assertions that Islamabad was unaware of the whereabouts of Mullah Omar. It has been saying that had Pakistan known about his location it would have caught and brought him to justice. “It would look a bit odd for such an important governor to talk like this unless he has a lot of substance in his remarks,” the PPP leader said. He said he had conveyed the remarks of the governor to the right quarters. But he did not specify these circles and their reaction.