President Hamid Karzai’s office said Sunday that there is “serious debate” among some Taliban fighters about laying down arms, though a spokesman for the group said the insurgents will “never” negotiate with Afghan authorities until foreign troops leave. Karzai said Saturday he would be willing to meet personally with Taliban leader Mullah Omar and give militants a position in government in exchange for peace. On Sunday, Karzai spokesman Humayun Hamidzada stressed that the militants would have to accept Afghanistan’s constitution. However, Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi repeated a position he had announced earlier this month, saying there would be no negotiations until US and NATO troops withdraw from Afghanistan. “The Taliban will never negotiate with the Afghan government in the presence of foreign forces,” Ahmadi told The Associated Press. “Even if Karzai gives up his presidency, it’s not possible that Mullah Omar would agree to negotiations. The foreign forces don’t have the authority to talk about Afghanistan.”
But Karzai’s spokesman said the government has information of a “serious debate” among some groups of Taliban about how long militants want to keep fighting. The UN and NATO have also said they see similar indications. “They want to live in peace and have a comfortable life with their families,” Hamidzada said. “There is serious debate within their ranks, but this is a process that takes time.”
Karzai travelled to the UN General Assembly in New York days ago, and Hamidzada said that among the UN Secretary-General and the foreign ministers of many countries, “everyone with one voice said we need a comprehensive strategy in dealing with the Taliban - both military and diplomatic components.”
He said Karzai and US President George W Bush also spoke generally about the Taliban reconciliation process and said Bush also supports such initiatives, though it was not clear if that would include broader Taliban peace talks beyond the individual reconciliation process that has seen more than 4,500 fighters lay down their arms in the last two years.
KarzaiÂ’s latest peace overture came as insurgency-related violence continued. Thirty people, mostly army soldiers, were killed in a suicide bomb attack on a military bus Saturday in Kabul.
| More than 270 have died in violence since last Sunday - 180 of them militants. The death toll this week includes more than 165 militants killed during two battles between the Taliban and joint Afghan-coalition forces. |
Military officials said they expected a spike in violence during the Muslim holy month of Ramazan, based on an increase in attacks last year during the same period. The death toll this week includes more than 165 militants killed during two battles between the Taliban and joint Afghan-coalition forces, and the 30 soldiers and civilians killed in the Kabul suicide bombing.
Militant attacks and military operations have killed more than 4,600 people so far this year, most of them insurgents, according to the AP count.