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[ 9 January 2006 ]
Afghan President Invites Former Taliban Leader To Peace Talks
President Hamid Karzai said on 8 January that several hundred former Taliban fighters have accepted his government's reconciliation offer and he suggested that Taliban spiritual leader Mullah Mohammad Omar should "get in touch" if he wants to discuss peace, AP reported on 9 January. While leaving the possibility of talks with Omar open, Karzai told AP that he does not think the leader of the former Taliban regime will be making peace. "He has so much on his hands against Afghanistan," Karzai said of Omar. In May 2004, the Afghan government established the Commission for Strengthening Peace and Stability to coordinate its reconciliation program with the neo-Taliban and other antigovernment forces. While the commission has claimed success in offering amnesty to neo-Taliban fighters willing to renounce their opposition to the government, the neo-Taliban leadership has consistently rejected such overtures (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 14 November 2005). AT
Former Afghan Prime Minister Hekmatyar Encourages Jihad
In a message commemorating the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca dated 8 January and published by the Peshawar-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP), former Afghan Prime Minister and Hizb-e Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar writes that it is "incumbent on every Afghan" to engage in jihad until "all occupation forces are driven out" of Afghanistan and "an Islamic system is established" in that country "in accordance with the people's wishes." In his message, Hekmatyar claims that the foreign aid provided to nongovernmental groups in Afghanistan is aimed at "converting Afghans to Christianity and spreading moral corruption." He writes that the United States is trying to force Pakistan to "give up" its struggle with India over Kashmir "in return" for making the Durand Line -- a disputed boundary between Afghanistan and Pakistan -- "permanent." The Durand Line -- named after Sir Henry Mortimer Durand, the British signatory to the 1893 agreement that demarcated the border between Afghanistan and British India -- has never been officially recognized by Afghanistan and has been at the core of disagreements between Afghanistan and Pakistan since the creation of Pakistan in 1947 (see "RFE/RL Afghanistan Report," 2 January 2003). AT
Religious Scholars In Northern Afghanistan Seek Ban On Non-Islamic Religious Celebrations
The Council of Ulema of Konduz Province has issued a resolution that characterizes non-Islamic religious celebrations as against Islamic law, Sheberghan-based Aina TV reported on 8 January. "Celebration of ridiculous festivals such as Christmas, the Christian New Year, and Indian holidays is against Shari'a law and means the propagation of other religions," the resolution stated, according to Aina. Konduz Governor Mohammad Omar has sought to stress the importance of respect for the religious festivals of other faiths. "In my opinion, we should respect other religions so that they respect ours," Mohammad Omar told the Konduz Council of Ulema, adding that Islam teaches respect toward other faiths. AT
Karzai Reiterates Position On Recognition Of Israel
President Karzai said in Kabul on 8 January that his government will establish diplomatic ties with Israel once the Palestinians have established their own state, AP reported. "Israelis are people like we are," Karzai said. "If I have the right to live, and have a home, and have a country, Israel has the right to live and have a country." Karzai also expressed the wish that God might grant ailing Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon "a longer life." Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev welcomed Karzai's remarks, "The Jerusalem Post" reported on 8 January. Karzai first discussed the possibility of Kabul's formal recognition of Jerusalem in an interview with Israeli journalists in Kabul in October (see "RFE/RL Afghanistan Report," 28 November 2005). AT
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