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LONDON: Members of the Taliban's leadership council have met secretly with the United Nations representative for Afghanistan to discuss the possibility of laying down their arms, a UN official said on Thursday.
The regional commanders from the Taliban's Quetta Shura requested the meeting with UN Special Representative Kai Eide and it took place on Jan. 8 in Dubai, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"They requested a meeting to talk about talks. They want protection, to be able to come out in public. They don't want to vanish into places like Bagram," the official said, referring to a detention centre at the main US military base in Afghanistan.
Eide declined to comment on whether or not the talks took place.
The Dubai meeting was at a higher level than previously known talks which took place in Saudi Arabia between former Taliban officials and representatives of the Afghan government in 2008.
A regional analyst who followed the Saudi talks closely said the Dubai meeting appeared a significantly more important contact between the Taliban and international community.
The UN official said there had been no follow-up on the talks yet, but added: "We've had the initial approach and we are hoping that the Afghan government will now follow up and capitalise on it."
The Afghan government invited Taliban insurgents on Thursday to a peace council of elders as part of efforts to find a way out of a conflict which is trying the patience and resources of Afghanistan's Western allies.