Afghanistan's president offers talks with Taliban 'without preconditions'

Afghan President Ashraf Ghanioffered recognition of the Taliban as a legitimate politicalgroup on Wednesday as part of a proposed political process thathe said could lead to talks aimed at ending more than 16 yearsof war.

The offer, made at the start of an international conferenceaimed at creating a platform for peace talks, adds to a series of signals from both the Western-backed government and theTaliban suggesting a greater willingness to consider dialogue.

Ghani proposed a ceasefire and a release of prisoners aspart of a range of options including new elections, involvingthe militants, and a constitutional review as part of a pactwith the Taliban to end a conflict that last year alone killedor wounded more than 10,000 Afghan civilians.

"We are making this offer without preconditions in order tolead to a peace agreement," Ghani said in opening remarks to theconference attended by officials from around 25 countriesinvolved in the so-called Kabul Process.

"The Taliban are expected to give input to the peace-makingprocess, the goal of which is to draw the Taliban, as an organization, to peace talks," he said, adding that he would not"pre-judge" any group seeking peace.

The comments, a month after a suicide attack in centralKabul killed around 100 people, represented a change in tone forGhani, who has regularly called the Taliban "terrorists" and"rebels" although he has also offered to talk with parts of themovement that accepted peace.

'Vision for peace'

The United Nations mission in Afghanistan welcomed the offerand said it "strongly supports the vision for peace throughintra-Afghan dialogue."

The Taliban, fighting to restore Islamic rule after their2001 defeat by U.S.-led troops, have offered to begin talks with the United States but have so far refused direct talks withKabul. It was unclear whether they would be prepared to shifttheir stance, despite growing international pressure.

However Ghani, who recently helped launch the latest stagein a major regional gas pipeline from Turkmenistan, said themomentum for peace was building from neighbouring countries thatincreasingly saw the necessity of a stable Afghanistan.

"The Taliban show awareness of these contextual shifts andseem to be engaged in a debate on the implications of acts ofviolence for their future," he said.

Ghani said a framework for peace negotiations should becreated, with the Taliban recognized as a legitimate group, withtheir own political office to handle negotiations in Kabul oranother agreed location.

Taliban officials have acknowledged that they have facedpressure from friendly countries to accept talks and said their recent offers to talk to the United States reflected concernthat they could be seen to be standing in the way of peace.

No official Taliban response

There was no immediate response to Ghani's offer, althoughone Taliban official, speaking on condition of anonymity, saidit was being studied by senior Taliban leaders.

Ghani said the process would be accompanied by coordinateddiplomatic support including a global effort to persuade neighbouring Pakistan, which Kabul has regularly accused ofaiding the Taliban, of the advantages of a stable Afghanistan.

He renewed an offer of talks with Pakistan, which rejectsthe accusations and points to the thousands of its citizens who have been killed by militant groups over the years.

In return for Ghani's offer, the Taliban would have torecognise the Afghan government and respect the rule of law, including the rights of women, one of the priorities forAfghanistan's international partners.

In addition, Taliban prisoners could be released and theirnames removed from international blacklists, while security arrangements could be made for Taliban agreeing to join aprocess of reconciliation. Former fighters and refugees could bereintegrated and provided with jobs.

The United States last year stepped up its militaryassistance to Afghanistan, notably through a sharp increase in air strikes, with the aim of breaking a stalemate with theinsurgents and forcing them to the negotiating table.

While the U.S. military says the strategy has hit theTaliban hard, they still control or contest much of the country and continue to inflict severe casualties on Afghan forces.

They also claimed responsibility for two major attacks inKabul last month that killed or wounded hundreds of civilians.