Hillary: We're ready to negotiate with Mullah Omar

In an appearance before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Mrs Clinton said the United States would continue to “fight, talk and build” in Afghanistan and Pakistan to “test whether these organisations have any willingness to negotiate in good faith”.

She said there was “evidence going both ways” on its intentions, citing the Haqqani Network’s response to a Pakistan-brokered meeting in August between US officials and Ibrahim Haqqani, the brother of the group’s top leader Jalaluddin Haqqani.