CRI听力:China, US, Pakistan Contribute in Reviving Afghan Peace Process

The meeting in Pakistan's capital is meant to kick-start a process to revive peace talks in an Afghanistan that remains engulfed in acts of violence.

Taliban militants have been intensifying their attacks on the Afghan government since the start of this year, with suicide bombings hitting various areas of the country, including the capital, Kabul.

Afghan political analyst Sayed Abdullah Ahmadi says he believes the Taliban has been stepping-up its offensives in an attempt to give itself a better bargaining position.

"Because the Taliban, maybe they think, if they do this kind of activity, they will be having more visibility and they can again show them as one of the main actor for the peace process, or the main side that Afghanistan should be considering them in the power."

However, questions remain about how united the Taliban in Afghanistan truly is.

There is said to be a significant rift within the Taliban, with numerous reports suggesting the group has been divided ever since the installation of its new leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour last summer.

It's believed the group is divided among those who would be willing to work within an Afghan government, and hard-liners who remain committed to trying to restore the Taliban to power in Afghanistan.

Pakistan's delegation to the talks are said to have a list of those within the Afghan Taliban who are willing to talk, and those who are not.

However, it's still not clear which side Taliban leader Mullah Mansour falls on.

Mansour's installation as the head of the Taliban coincided with the collapse of the peace talks during the summer, after it was revealed Taliban founder Mullah Omar had died in hospital 2-years earlier.

Observers suggest the divide within the Taliban, as well as the emergence of Islamic State forces in Afghanistan who are fighting against the Taliban, is making the job for negotiators that much more difficult.

Managing Director of the Afghan Civil Society Forum, Aziz Rafiee says China, as a direct neighbor to both Afghanistan and Pakistan, can help bridge any divides.

But he says the main issue in this round of talks will be getting the factions within Afghanistan itself to come to the table.

"Afghanistan needs to establish itself from inside Afghanistan as a nation. No one else can help Afghanistan. Whatever comes from outside can contribute if we have something inside. If you don't have something inside Afghanistan, no contribution can be helpful."

Afghanistan suffered through one of its bloodiest years on-record in 2015.

The United Nations estimates the number of civilians killed in 2015 surpassed 32-hundred, which is higher than the previous body count set the year before.

For CRI, this is Li Jianhua.