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Afghan Taliban repudiates hoped-for olive branch to government
Source: Reuters
Afghan Taliban repudiates hoped-for olive branch to government
BY HAMID SHALIZI
KABUL Wed Feb 19, 2014 12:54pm EST
(Reuters) - The Taliban said on Wednesday it had nothing to do with a recent meeting of former and current Taliban figures who appeared open to talks with the Afghan government, raising hope of a negotiated end to many years of bloodshed.
In a statement emailed to media organizations, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the Taliban remained opposed to direct talks with the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, whom the Islamist insurgents regard as a Western agent.
"There was no meeting in Dubai in which the Islamic Emirate (Taliban) participated, nor are there any talks with the so-called Afghan Peace Council," Mujahid said, using the Taliban's name for its 1996-2001 government.
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On Sunday, Afghan officials said a delegation from Kabul's High Peace Council, a government body established to foster a political end to the war, had gone to Dubai in hopes of meeting with a group of former and current Taliban figures who had hinted at a readiness to hold talks.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
BY HAMID SHALIZI
KABUL Wed Feb 19, 2014 12:54pm EST
(Reuters) - The Taliban said on Wednesday it had nothing to do with a recent meeting of former and current Taliban figures who appeared open to talks with the Afghan government, raising hope of a negotiated end to many years of bloodshed.
In a statement emailed to media organizations, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the Taliban remained opposed to direct talks with the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, whom the Islamist insurgents regard as a Western agent.
"There was no meeting in Dubai in which the Islamic Emirate (Taliban) participated, nor are there any talks with the so-called Afghan Peace Council," Mujahid said, using the Taliban's name for its 1996-2001 government.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
On Sunday, Afghan officials said a delegation from Kabul's High Peace Council, a government body established to foster a political end to the war, had gone to Dubai in hopes of meeting with a group of former and current Taliban figures who had hinted at a readiness to hold talks.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/19/us-afghanistan-taliban-idUSBREA1I1CS20140219