January 29, 2010 - Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi says moderate elements of the Taliban should be taken into the Afghan government. In the process, a “wedge” could be driven between moderates and hardliners, he said.

“Get them into the mainstream, give them a respectable share in power, it will add to stability,” he told the BBC on Thursday.

Mr. Qureshi’s remarks came as a London conference on Afghanistan established a multi-million dollar trust fund aimed at winning over militant foot soldiers who renounce the Taliban and violence.

He rejected the suggestion that giving the Taliban a role in Kabul might encourage the Taliban in Pakistan. “I think it will create a wedge between the hard core and the moderates,” he said.

“We in Pakistan have carried out our own national effort. Today in Pakistan people are convinced that this element which wants to Taliban-ise Pakistan is not in line with the overwhelming majority of people in Pakistan,” he added.