Ayaz Gul ISLAMABAD— An anticipated annual winter reduction in fighting in Afghanistan has prompted international and regional partners to intensify efforts to encourage a revival of Afghan peace talks. This year's fighting season witnessed a sharp increase in Taliban-led insurgent advances across Afghanistan since the Islamist group was ousted from power in late 2001. The battlefield setbacks are not surprising to many, as Afghan security forces took on the insurgency for the first time without any direct international military assistance after NATO ended its combat mission last year. However, at a time of dwindling foreign financial assistance, questions are being raised...
↧