President Hamid Karzai said that a few hundred Taleban fighters have reconciled with the government and suggested militant leader Mullah Omar should âget in touchâ if he wanted to talk peace. In the context of escalating violence, including suicide attacks, the remarks by Karzai in an interview Sunday with The Associated Press were seen as a softening of the governmentâs previous policy of not negotiating with top leaders of the hard-line militia. Despite the spike in bloodshed, the US-backed leader said the Talebanâs resistance was fading although he expected suicide attacks to continue in Afghanistan âfor a long time.â Karzai said a booming drug trade presented a greater threat to Afghanistan than terrorism and endangered its future.Karzai, 48, who won a five-year term as the war-battered nationâs first democratically elected leader in 2004, invited all Afghans, âTaleban or non-Taleban,â to help rebuild the country, and said that includes Omar. âIf he wants to come, he should get in touch with us,â the president said, indicating he was open to the possibility of talks with the reclusive militia leader despite his most-wanted status. âBut I donât think he will come. He has so much on his hands against Afghanistan. We donât even know as to where he is hiding,â Karzai said. âHe has to first give us an account as to what heâs done.â
Karzai, who appeared upbeat during the interview at his heavily guarded palace in the snowy capital, Kabul, said hundreds of Taleban members who are ânot associated with terrorismâ already have participated in a government reconciliation program. He said the hunt for Omar and bin Laden, who are believed hiding in rugged mountains on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, would continue. âI am sure we will find them one day.â
The president said terrorism has been ârelegated to little more than a nuisanceâ when compared with the scourge of drugs facing the country. Afghanistan is the worldâs biggest producer of illegal narcotics, yielding enough opium to make about 450 tons of heroin last year - sparking warnings the country is fast becoming a ânarco-state.â The problem has criminalized the economy, tainted the countryâs image, hindered the development of strong government institutions and undermined young peopleâs lives, Karzai said. He claimed criminal gangs, including some from Europe, threaten to kill farmers if they donât cultivate poppies. âWe have reports of the mafia, from the rest of the world, coming and actively encouraging drugs in Afghanistan,â Karzai said. âThey are not only from Russia, they are in Europe, they are in Afghanistan, they are in the neighbors of Afghanistan, they are everywhere.â He said some senior Afghan officials were involved in the illegal trade, but he rejected criticism that he has not been tough enough in dealing with them. âWe have not been given any evidence so far against anyone,â Karzai said.
Separately, Karzai said NATO-led troops taking over security in southern Afghanistan must not use aggressive tactics, including air strikes or searches of peopleâs homes, without government permission. NATO is expanding its operations from the countryâs relatively stable north and west into the volatile south, where Taleban-led militants are active - a move that will allow the United States to reduce its troop presence in the region. âWe do not want bombing of our villages. We do not want searches of our homes,â Karzai said. âWe donât want our civilians harassed anymore.â