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Karzai To Offer Work and Pensions To Taliban
[Quqnoos] President Karzai will unveil a plan to offer work, education, pensions and land to Taliban fighters who lay down their arms, according to reports President Hamid Karzai intends to launch the reconciliation and reintegration plan at the start of next week's London conference on Afghanistan, British newspaper, the Guardian, reports. The Afghan president has also pledged to hold a new peace conference in the spring, restating a standing invitation to insurgents ready to swear an oath to the country's constitution. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband promised the initiative would have international backing. US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, in his recent visit to Kabul said his government also supports Karzai's reintegration plan. Afghan officials say the Kabul government has learned from earlier mistakes and promise that the plan will be far more comprehensive, offering in some cases, a totally new life to the Taliban, the report adds. The initiative, which was presented to senior western diplomats in Abu Dhabi earlier this month, will include jobs or land to farm, education for young fighters and pension for older insurgents who may have fought for much of the past three decades of conflict. Posted by: Fred 2010-01-21 |
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