Mr Ghani has been hard at work lobbying Pakistan to use its influence to bring the Taliban to the bargaining table. Since early May members of the movement's political office, based in Qatar, have had informal meetings with people close to the Afghan government. Delegates from both sides stress that they act in personal capacity, though the high profile of some of them has spurred hope that peace talks could be on the horizon. Participants have included the Taliban's chief negotiator, Tayyeb Agha; Afghanistan's deputy foreign minister, Hekmat Khalil Karzai (a cousin of Hamid Karzai, the former president); and Shukria Barakzai, a female lawmaker who has suffered several attempts on her life.
Still, the fighting is getting worse. The question is whom exactly these Taliban delegates represent, and whether the insurgents on the ground share any appetite for a role in peacetime politics. At this point strategic disagreements between the Taliban's leadership and disillusioned field commanders might be propelling the war. Whatever the logic on the Taliban side, peace talks are unlikely to get anywhere until this spate of violence subsides. An attack on the very symbol of democratic government undermines any attempt at reconciliation.