Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai adjusts his hat during an interview with The Associated Press in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Feb. 16, 2019. (Rahmat Gul/Associated Press)KABUL, Afghanistan — Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Saturday that previously unscheduled peace talks between the Taliban and the United States in Pakistan risk engulfing the country in regional rivalries. “We don’t want the peace process to become hostage to competing powers for influence in Afghanistan or over the process,” said Karzai. Karzai said he is concerned that Monday’s meeting in Pakistan could be the first step down a slippery slope to the past when Pakistan wielded influence over his country. Yet in an effort to find an end to the country’s lengthy war, the United States last year acquiesced to the Taliban’s longstanding demand for direct talks.

Source: Washington Post February 16, 2019 10:13 UTC