KABUL - President Hamid Karzai and representatives of a major militant group wrapped up a first round of peace talks Tuesday, reaching no final deal but pledging to continue a dialogue that if successful would split the ranks of the Taliban-led insurgency. The talks with Hizb-i-Islami were the first public face-to-face negotiations in the capital between Karzai and representatives of an insurgent group. Hizb-i-Islami, led by former Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, is far smaller than the Taliban but is active in at least four provinces of eastern Afghanistan and parts of the north. Its defection from the insurgency would be a coup for Karzai and could encourage some members of the Taliban to explore their own peace deals. The talks come ahead of a three-day peace conference the Afghan government is hosting the first week of May in Kabul. Hizb-i-Islami negotiators said they had not yet decided whether the group would be represented at the gathering. A member of the delegation, Qaribur Rahman Saeed, characterised the two-hour working lunch with Karzai as "positive for both sides." It was the second meeting the delegation had with Karzai at the presidential palace since it arrived in early March. The delegation plans to leave later this week and submit a report to Hekmatyar. Members said that would take 15 to 20 days because Hekmatyar is in hiding, the delegation said. Karzai's spokesman, Waheed Omar, said the government expressed hope for future talks, but said it was too early to judge progress. He also made clear there were some conditions in Hizb-i-Islami's 15-point peace plan that were unacceptable, including the rapid withdrawal of US and other foreign troops. "There are some values like the constitution of Afghanistan, respecting human rights and some other issues that the Afghan people and the Afghan government are not willing to deal on," Omar said. He added the government would not agree to the departure of foreign troops until Afghan forces were ready to defend the country. The plan calls for foreign forces to begin withdrawing in July ��" a year ahead of President Barack Obama's desired deadline to begin a pullout. The delegation acknowledged this was a sticking point, but said the group was flexible on the issue. Under tight security, the five-member negotiating team has shuttled around Kabul having private meetings with Karzai, Vice President Mohammad Qasim Fahim, top leaders of parliament, former members of the Taliban, and a few members of the international community, including Staffan de Mistura, the top UN official in Afghanistan.
