Taliban reject Karzai reconciliation offer

Afghanistan's Taliban rejected President Hamid Karzai's latest attempt to reach out to them as "futile" and "farcical" on Sunday, but said they were open to talks to achieve their goal of an Islamic state. "This is not the first time that the Kabul regime and the invading countries want to throw dust into the eyes of the public of the world by announcing reconciliation in words and, in practice, make preparation for war," said a statement posted in English on the Afghan Taliban's website, alemarah.info. "Similarly, they put forward conditions, which are tantamount to escalating the war rather than ending it. For example, they want Mujahideen to lay down arms, accept the constitution and renounce violence. None can name this reconciliation," it said. Karzai used a conference in London last month to repeat a call for reconciliation with his "disenchanted brothers" in the Taliban. He has since travelLed to Saudi Arabia to ask its leaders for help reaching out to the militants. At the conference, Western governments approved language in a communique that said Afghans who disavow violence and accept the constitution should be accepted in the political process, signalling support for Karzai's outreach bid. But the Taliban statement rejected Western support for Karzai's reconciliation efforts as "an eyewash" designed to convince anti-war voters in the West their leaders want peace, even as they prepare for a new offensive in Helmand province.