... As Karzai extends olive branch to Taliban
KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai extended an olive branch yesterday to Taliban militants trying to overthrow his Western-backed government as he marked the start of the Muslim Eid al-Fitr festival.
Karzai, currently beleaguered by fraud accusations following the August 20 election, also extended condolences to the families of civilian victims of a massive suicide attack that killed six Italian soldiers on Thursday.
"On this auspicious day once again I ask all those Afghan brothers who are unhappy or are in others' hands to stop fighting, destroying their own land and killing their own people," he said.
"They must come to their houses and live in peace in their own country," he said, speaking to reporters at the presidential palace in Kabul.
Karzai has said, should he win another five years in the country's top job, he will launch peace talks with the leaders of the Taliban insurgency that has intensified in recent months to deadly effect.
His comments marking the end of the Ramadan month of fasting and the start of the three-day Eid holiday followed a statement by Taliban leader Mullah Omar warning foreign troops of imminent and unequivocal defeat.
Omar, regarded as the Taliban's "supreme commander" and believed to be in Pakistan, said in his Eid statement on Saturday: "The more the enemy resorts to increasing forces, the more they will face an unequivocal defeat in Afghanistan."
The US and NATO have more than 100,000 troops in Afghanistan, attempting to wipe out the Taliban, though the rebels have changed tactics in recent months to meet a renewed battle strategy from the foreign and Afghan forces.
AFP
(China Daily 09/21/2009 page13)
