Foreign troops on Afghan soil ‘main issue’: Taliban

KABUL on Friday rejected as a government propaganda that they were ready to enter peace talks with the Afghan authorities, saying such statements were aimed at deceiving the people.

The Taliban’s reaction comes a day after High Peace Council secretary Dr. Akram Khpalwak told the parliament that they would be able to start intra-Afghan peace talks in near future.

He said direct talks with the Taliban would be started, but these parlays would not take place in Pakistan.

Khpalwak said an international conference of ulema and the government would receive support for its peace endeavors.

But the Taliban in a statement attributed to their spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the Kabul administration and some peace and provincial officials had once again started false rumors about peace talks.

He said the Taliban had no program to enter talks with the government which through such claims wanted to mislead people’s minds.

Mujahid said the Taliban maintained a clear policy for talks and had many times repeated that stance, calling the presence of foreign troops on the Afghanistan’s soil “the mother of all problems.”

Before Khpalwak, High Peace Council official Aminuddin Muzfari had also said the people would hear good news about peace soon.

Similarly, Afghanistan ambassador in Pakistan Dr. Omar Zakhilwal had also claimed progress in talks with Pakistan.

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