Afghanistan's Taliban Sunday rejected President Hamid Karzai's latest call for peace, despite pressure from a NATO offensive and the capture of its number 2. Karzai renewed his appeal in parliament Saturday for the Taliban to accept his peace proposal. At a conference on Afghanistan in London in January, donor nations backed his plans for peace talks with those militants who renounce violence and pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to persuade fighters to lay down weapons. The Taliban have repeatedly turned down Karzai's peace proposals, saying foreign troops should leave Afghanistan first, but some tentative “talks about talks” have taken place. “Karzai is a puppet, he cannot represent a nation or a government,” said Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf, commenting on Karzai's call for the Taliban to work for peace and reconstruction. “He is bogged down in corruption and is surrounded by warlords who are making themselves rich.” The Taliban, who have made a steady comeback since being ousted after a 2001 US-led invasion, are under pressure.
