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| Afghanistan |
| Taliban reject calls for peace talks |
| 2010-06-02 |
| Taliban militants in Afghanistan reject President Hamid Karzai's offer to attend an upcoming "US-initiated" national peace conference. The Taliban said on Tuesday that the 3-day meeting that is to begin on Wednesday, has no credibility as long as foreign troops remain in Afghanistan. Karzai is expected to attend the Kabul assembly, known as a "peace jirga," along with 1,600 leaders, including tribal elders, religious scholars, representatives of the civil society and members of rights groups. The participants are expected to debate Karzai's 36-page Afghanistan Peace and Reintegration Program. They would then produce a blueprint for peace talks with the Taliban and other groups. The militants said on their website that they will boycott the meeting as the jirga does not represent the Afghan people and safeguards only the interests of foreigners, dpa reported. Taliban militants have been waging a war for the past nine years against the Western-backed Afghan government and around 130,000 US-led international troops. |
| Posted by:Fred |