Afghanistan’s Taliban insurgents have said that their support for peace talks does not mean a surrender from Jihad, and have vowed to continue their armed struggle. Newkerala Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the militants had been fighting for the past 15 years to establish an Islamic government in Afghanistan “in accordance with the request of its people”. “It is for this purpose and for bringing about peace and stability in Afghanistan that we have increased our political efforts to come to mutual understanding with the world in order to solve the current ongoing situation,” Mujahid said in an emailed statement. “But this understanding does not mean a surrender from Jihad and neither is it connected to an acceptance of the constitution of the stooge Kabul administration,” he added. Earlier, rumours have swirled about the possibility of peace talks to end war in Afghanistan between the US-led coalition and the Taliban in the Gulf nation of Qatar, The Dawn reports. US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton recently acknowledge US efforts to jump-start a peace process with the militants in order to help bring an end to 10-year-long war. She also indicated progress on effort to open a political representative office for the Taliban in Qatar, whose role as would-be host for peace talks has gained reluctant approval from Afghan President Hamid Karzai last month. (ANI)
