THE contrariness of US policy towards the Taliban continues to heighten. While Pakistan is still being subjected to the do more in terms of expansion of military operations in FATA against the Taliban, the US itself is moving closer to dialoguing with certain groups of Taliban. General McChrystal, in an interview with Britains Financial Times has stated very categorically that they are looking towards a negotiated peace with the Taliban in Afghanistan. This is merely a reflection of US Defence Secretarys admission last week that the Taliban were part of Afghanistans political fabric. Of course McChrystal thinks that with the troop surge, the US can create an arc of secure territory that will allow the US to negotiate from a position of strength with the Taliban - but regardless, one can expect some dialogue to begin with the Afghan Taliban. Interestingly, Britains Miliband has made it clear that his country has reverted to its old colonial policy of divide and rule and has made it a part of their strategy to divide the Afghan Taliban - presumably to talk to the so-called good Taliban Whatever the strategy, both the US and Britain have come to a clear conclusion that without a dialogue with the Taliban, there can be no peace in Afghanistan. Given how Britain eventually even negotiated with the IRA, despite its massive terrorist attacks that extended to England and also killed a member of the Royal Family, Lord Mountbatten; negotiating with the Taliban is something that should not pose a problem for them. So why is it then that the US and UK are so opposed to Pakistan talking to its own militants in order to separate them from the foreign militants and the diehard terrorists? After all, the Armys dialogue with the Mehsud tribesmen has resulted in their agreeing to hand over members of the TTP, including Hakimullah Mehsud if they caught him. So, clearly the US/UK intent vis a vis Pakistan is at the very least questionable when Pakistan is told to do more, purely in terms of a military offensive, and the US increases drone strikes, killing more Pakistani civilians than militants. This is a recipe for expanding the destabilisation, militancy and extremism within the country - as we are already seeing. That is why the time has come for Pakistan to delink itself from the US 'war on terror and evolve its own indigenous and holistic strategies for combating the menace of extremism and violence. While the US and UK are evolving strategies to talk to the Taliban in Afghanistan, the top UN Envoy in Afghanistan has urged Afghan officials to seek removal of senior Taliban leaders from the UN terror list; and the US to review the detention of 750 Bagram prisoners - a major grievance of the Taliban. So is the ground being prepared for a US-Taliban dialogue and will Pakistan once again be left with the destructive remains of a failed US policy?