Kabul, February 01: Afghan President Hamid Karzai appealed to Taleban fighters Sunday to lay down their weapons and accept Afghan laws as the government and its international allies push a program to entice militants away from the insurgency.
Karzai spoke three days after he and Western backers agreed at a conference in London to create a more comprehensive program to bring Taleban over to the government’s side in order to reduce violence that has raged in recent years. Incentives have existed for years for the Taleban to stop fighting, but these have generally been ineffective, attracting only the lowest-level fighters with no guarantees they wouldn’t return to the insurgency or that promised aid would come through.
And despite incentives, the insurgency has expanded steadily in the past six years. In 2004, NATO estimated that fewer than 400 Taleban were left in Afghanistan. By last year that figure had grown to nearly 25,000, with the latest estimates in early 2010 putting the number of insurgents at close to 30,000.
Karzai stressed he plans to reconcile with Taleban leaders as much as they are willing, but he made clear his offer of reconciliation did not extend to anyone in Al-Qaeda, saying there was no room in Afghanistan for terrorists.
“We are trying our best to reach as high as possible to bring peace and security,” Karzai said in his first news conference since returning from London.
Karzai has said previously he is willing to talk to Taleban leader Mullah Omar and welcome back any militants who are willing to recognize the Afghan constitution.
The Taleban have always set the withdrawal of international troops as a precondition for any negotiations. Karzai called that unrealistic, saying the NATO coalition should be expected to stay until they achieve their goal of removing Al-Qaeda and other terrorist threats.
Afghanistan’s international backers agreed in London to provide funding for a renewed effort to woo Taleban away from Al-Qaeda and the insurgency.
——-Agencies