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Afghan tribal leader in talks with Kandahar Taliban: Press
Afghan opposition commander Hamid Karzai said he is negotiating with Taliban leaders in the Kandahar region to try to persuade them to surrender, in an interview on Tuesday with an Italian newspaper.
Afghan opposition commander Hamid Karzai said he is negotiating with Taliban leaders in the Kandahar region to try to persuade them to surrender, in an interview on Tuesday with an Italian newspaper.
We are continuing to fight, but we are also continuing to talk to Taliban commanders, Karzai told La Republica by satellite telephone.
We don't want any more bloodshed, He was quoted as saying. It is clear that the Taliban have lost. Mullah Omar must understand. It's the message we have given him. He must surrender, he must recognise that the war is over.
As I speak, my men have taken control of two other districts in the Kandahar region and in a short time I will have a very important meeting with some of the Taliban leaders who are in Kandahar, the spiritual base of the extremist regime. He did not specify when or where the meeting would take place. The newspaper did not specify when it spoke to Karzai.
Pakistan-based AIP news agency reported earlier on Tuesday that the Taliban had repulsed an attack by Karzai's forces overnight Monday at Shahwali Kot, 30 kilometres north of Kandahar.
Karzai, who is close to the ex-king Mohammed Zahir Shah, is being thought of as a possible Prime Minister in a future transition government under negotiation between Afghan opposition groups in Bonn.
Bureau Report
We are continuing to fight, but we are also continuing to talk to Taliban commanders, Karzai told La Republica by satellite telephone.
We don't want any more bloodshed, He was quoted as saying. It is clear that the Taliban have lost. Mullah Omar must understand. It's the message we have given him. He must surrender, he must recognise that the war is over.
As I speak, my men have taken control of two other districts in the Kandahar region and in a short time I will have a very important meeting with some of the Taliban leaders who are in Kandahar, the spiritual base of the extremist regime. He did not specify when or where the meeting would take place. The newspaper did not specify when it spoke to Karzai.
Pakistan-based AIP news agency reported earlier on Tuesday that the Taliban had repulsed an attack by Karzai's forces overnight Monday at Shahwali Kot, 30 kilometres north of Kandahar.
Karzai, who is close to the ex-king Mohammed Zahir Shah, is being thought of as a possible Prime Minister in a future transition government under negotiation between Afghan opposition groups in Bonn.
Bureau Report