The Taliban dismissed on Sunday a planned gathering (jirga) between Afghanistan and Pakistan on the insurgency, saying it was an attempt to ‘deceive’ ordinary Afghans.President Hamid Karzai announced last week that the two countries would hold the gathering on August 1. It is intended to bring together about 700 tribal leaders, politicians and academics from both sides to find a way to tackle the growing Taliban-led insurgency. “It’s an attempt by Karzai’s government to deceive people,” said a Taliban statement read over the telephone by one of the rebels’ spokesmen. “The Afghans know this and will never accept it. They are thinking about their freedom and will gain it,” read the spokesman, Yousuf Ahmadi.