[R-G] Former Taliban minister denies Afghan peace talks

[Anthony Fenton]

Former Taliban minister denies Afghan peace talks
Wed Oct 8, 2008 2:59pm BST

By Jon Hemming

http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKTRE4973A320081008

KABUL (Reuters) - Former Taliban Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmed  
Muttawakil Wednesday denied a meeting he attended with Afghan  
government officials in Saudi Arabia last month constituted peace  
talks aimed at ending the seven-year conflict.

The meeting however, hosted by Saudi King Abdullah, could still help  
open the way to dialogue between the Western-backed Afghan government  
and the Taliban to end fighting that has killed more than 3,800 people  
this year, a third of them civilians.

"It's totally wrong news. The were no talks and no Taliban  
representative was there. It was an ordinary and normal meeting and  
dinner," Muttawakil told the Pakistan-based AIP news agency.

"During our meetings with delegations from different countries,  
everybody talked about the problems of Afghanistan and expressed  
concerns and similarly, we came to know Saudi Arabia is also  
concerned," he said.

"But neither were there formal negotiations, nor did Taliban  
representatives attend those discussions."

Muttawakil's comments follow similar denials from the Afghan  
government and other former Taliban present at the meeting.

But while the former foreign minister, always regarded as a moderate  
in the austere Islamist movement, insists he is no longer a member of  
the Taliban, he and others present in Saudi are believed to have  
regular contacts with the insurgents.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai made a direct appeal for peace to  
Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar last week and asked Saudi Arabia  
to help mediate talks, but the Afghan government also denies any talks  
have yet taken place.

Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta told reporters on Wednesday  
that ending the war required negotiations but only with those who  
acted within the law.

"The Afghan government believes all doors for peace and negotiation  
must be kept open for those who comply with the Afghan constitution,  
and we have to work hard in this regard."

With more than 60,000 troops in Afghanistan, NATO-led and U.S. forces  
have already suffered more casualties this year than in any entire  
year since the Taliban were ousted in 2001 for refusing to give up al  
Qaeda leaders behind the September 11 attacks.

BREAK WITH AL QAEDA?

While Western officials, including U.S. Defence Secretary Robert  
Gates, recognise reconciliation is part of the solution in  
Afghanistan, it would be hard for them to make any accommodation with  
the Taliban while the movement still has ties with al Qaeda.

Saudi Arabia, one of only three countries to recognise the Taliban  
government in the late 1990s, would also insist the insurgents break  
with al Qaeda and Saudi-born Osama bin Laden.

But the Taliban is by no means a fully unified group and has allies,  
such as the Haqqani network operating in eastern Afghanistan, that  
analysts say are reliant on al Qaeda support.

In a possible sign of conflict de-escalation though, the Taliban said  
they would not attack aid convoys if they were for Afghan civilians  
and the insurgents were informed in advance.

The statement comes two days after the U.N. special envoy to  
Afghanistan, Kai Eide, appealed to the Taliban for safe access for  
aid, including food distribution and polio vaccination.

"If we are sure that all food in the convoy is meant for the common  
people, we will never attack it," Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad  
Yousuf told AIP.

"The United Nations should contact the mujahideen before sending food  
supplies to areas controlled by the Taliban and not bring police and  
other forces along with them and then the Taliban will not attack  
them," he said.

The United Nations in Kabul said it had not been contacted directly by  
the Taliban but welcomed the statement.

If the Taliban statement is correct, said U.N. spokesman Dan McNorton,  
"this is clearly a step forward and welcome.

"There is a real humanitarian need that must be addressed now across  
Afghanistan. We all need to share this humanitarian agenda to ensure  
that food reaches the most vulnerable," he said.

Attacks on aid workers and convoys have increased with more than 120  
incidents this year and 30 aid workers have been killed and a further  
92 abducted, the U.N. says.

(Additional reporting by Jonathon Burch; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)