Afghans back Pakistan's plan of talks with Taliban

By Sayed Salahuddin

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan backs Islamabad's plan to hold talks with the Pakistani Taliban, the government said on Saturday, but urged its neighbor not to allow the militants space to regroup and launch raids across the border.

Pakistan's new coalition government has said it wants to open talks with the Taliban in a bid to break with the policies of President Pervez Musharraf.

Musharraf's support for the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan and its campaign against the militants is deeply unpopular, particularly among the Pashtun tribes who straddle the border.

Baitullah Mehsud, a leader of the Pakistani Taliban and an al Qaeda ally, pulled out of a peace deal with Islamabad last week after it refused to withdraw the army from tribal lands.

Mehsud has been accused of a wave of suicide attacks that have rocked Pakistan since mid-2007, including one that killed former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in December.

Pakistan has yet to comment on Mehsud's move.

REGROUP

Media reports had quoted the Pakistani Taliban as vowing to focus attacks in Afghanistan after the peace deal.