President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif are in London for talks with British Premier David Cameron. This is the fourth trilateral summit between the leaders of three countries and it is the first time Nawaz Sharif is taking part in. Issue related to Afghan peace process has been said to be the focus of the summit.

On Wednesday, the presidential palace said in a statement that Senior Afghan officials will travel to Pakistan soon to speak to former Taliban No.2 leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar following a breakthrough in negotiations during the London summit. "The leaders of the three countries spoke about Pakistan's role in the peace process and it was agreed that the High Peace Council (HPC) delegation would travel to Pakistan in the near future to meet Mullah Baradar," the palace said in the statement.  

Thankfully, the summit has at least come up with a decision that can be put into action. This is necessary to mention here that in the same-format trilateral summit hosted by British PM, David Cameron in February, President Hamid Karzai and then President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari had pledged to work for regional stability by accelerating efforts to strike a peace deal with Afghan Taliban. The significant but more surprising point that had come out of the summit was that Afghan and Pakistani presidents had said they would work together to reach a peace deal for Afghanistan in six months - something that did not happen.

Last month, the Pakistani government released Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar after time and again requests from Afghan authorities. Ironically, Baradar has neither been handed over to the Afghan government nor has he been transferred to a third country. He still remains under strict supervision of Pakistani government and the Afghan authorities know nothing of his whereabouts and have not been able to contact him.

Now it has been decided in the London summit that an HPC delegation must travel to Pakistan, this time for meeting with Baradar. But what should be expected? Although Mullah Baradar was once Taliban No.2 leader, his current influence on Taliban leadership and fighters remain greatly ambiguous. He has remained in captivity for more than three years.

Before the HPC delegation leaves for Pakistan, the role Baradar can play in promoting peace negotiations with Taliban must be evaluated and it has to be made sure that he has not been discarded by Taliban. After being in jail for years and detached from Taliban and Afghanistan related issues, there is no much hope from HPC-Baradar meeting.