(Pakistan was one of just three countries which recognized the Taliban regime — the others being Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — and maintained an embassy in Kabul.) Following the 9/11 terror attacks, Pakistan’s former military ruler, General Pervez Musharraf, abandoned his country’s closely-built ties with the Taliban movement

Commenting on a report published earlier today in The New York Times, the Pakistani official confirmed the offer made by General Ashfaq Parvez Kiyani (Pakistan’s army chief of staff) during a visit last month to NATO headquarters in Belgium.

(Left: Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kiyani presides at a meeting of top military commanders in Rawalpindi, 강남 마사지 Pakistan in this October 2009 file photo.)