Afghan President Hamid Karzai reached out to the Taliban Friday, part of a call for reconciliation that the palace says will be the main focus of his second term that began last week. Speaking to reporters outside his palace in Kabul on the first day of the Muslim Eid Al-Adha holiday, Karzai said: “I once again call upon our brothers, the Taliban, Hezb-e-Islami and everyone who is away from their land and who have taken up arms against their soil, to come back to their country for peace, stability, prosperity,” he said. “So that we Afghan people join hand in hand together to rebuild and prosper our beloved country.” Hezb-e-Islami refers to followers of former anti-Soviet guerrilla commander Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, an Islamist who has been sympathetic to Taliban aims. Karzai, sworn in last week for his second five-year term, called for reconciliation with the militants in his inauguration speech and his office has said the insurgents could be asked to attend a “loya jirga”, or grand council meeting, next year. In a rare public statement on Wednesday, the Taliban's reclusive leader, Mullah Omar, rejected Kabul's calls for negotiations and called on Afghans to break off ties with their “stooge” government.
