InfoAnda - Exclusive: Afghanistan sets ground rules for Taliban talks |

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent | 19 June 2012
Pro-fighter Gina Carano goes Haywire in movie debut | | 19 January 2012
Court rules against Rambus, shares plunge | | 14 May 2011

Fox News falls victim to Twitter hacking, claimed Obama was dead | 5 July 2011

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Exclusive: Afghanistan sets ground rules for Taliban talks |

Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Home Business Business Home Economy Davos 2012 Technology Media Small Business Legal Deals Earnings Summits Business Video Markets Markets Home U.S. Markets European Markets Asian Markets Global Market Data Indices M&A Stocks Bonds Currencies Commodities Futures Funds peHUB World World Home U.S. Brazil China Euro Zone Japan Mexico Russia India Insight World Video Politics Politics Home Election 2012 Issues 2012 Candidates 2012 Tales from the Trail Political Punchlines Supreme Court Politics Video Tech Technology Home MediaFile Science Tech Video Opinion Opinion Home Chrystia Freeland John Lloyd Felix Salmon Jack Shafer David Rohde Bernd Debusmann Gregg Easterbrook Nader Mousavizadeh James Saft Lucy P. Marcus David Cay Johnston Bethany McLean Edward Hadas Hugo Dixon Ian Bremmer Mohamed El-Erian Lawrence Summers Susan Glasser The Great Debate Steven Brill Breakingviews Equities Credit Private Equity M&A Macro & Markets Politics Money Money Home Global Investing MuniLand Unstructured Finance Linda Stern Mark Miller John Wasik Analyst Research Alerts Watchlist Portfolio Stock Screener Fund Screener Personal Finance Video Life & Culture Health Sports Arts Faithworld Business Traveler Entertainment Oddly Enough Lifestyle Video Pictures Pictures Home Reuters Photographers Full Focus Video Article Comments (0) Full Focus Photos of the week Our top photos from the past week. Full Article Best photos of the year Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Web gambling gets boost from Obama administration 25 Dec 2011 Mel Gibson, wife finalize divorce 23 Dec 2011 Obamas go to church, dine in for Christmas in Hawaii 25 Dec 2011 Islamists kill dozens in Nigeria Christmas bombs | 25 Dec 2011 Islamists kill dozens in Nigeria Christmas bombs | 25 Dec 2011 Discussed 257 In ad for newsletter, Ron Paul forecast ”race war” 132 Slumping Gingrich promises sharper counter-punch 119 Gingrich questions Ron Paul on racist newsletters Watched Japan picks the F35 as regional uncertainty rises Mon, Dec 19 2011 A royal hospital visit Sun, Dec 25 2011 Tanks and protests in Syria Sun, Dec 25 2011 Exclusive: Afghanistan sets ground rules for Taliban talks Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Suicide bomb kills at least 20 in northern Afghanistan Sun, Dec 25 2011 Mourning Syrians rally for Assad, U.N. condemns bombs Sat, Dec 24 2011 New U.N. draft resolution on Syria: bombs hit capital Fri, Dec 23 2011 Pakistan army chief says coup fears "speculation" Fri, Dec 23 2011 U.S., Pakistan share blame in border deaths: U.S. probe Thu, Dec 22 2011 Analysis & Opinion In Pakistan, history may not even rhyme, let alone repeat Muniland Snaps – December 20, 2011 Related Topics World » Afghanistan » An Afghan policeman keeps watch near the house of the head of Afghanistan's High Peace Council Burhanuddin Rabbani, after a blast in Kabul September 20, 2011. Credit: Reuters/Ahmad Masood By Sanjeev Miglani and Hamid Shalizi KABUL | Mon Dec 26, 2011 2:58am EST KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan will accept a Taliban office in Qatar to help peace talks but no foreign power can get involved in the process without its consent, the government's peace council said, as efforts gather pace to find a solution to the 10-year war. Afghanistan's High Peace Council, in a note to foreign missions, has set out ground rules for engaging the Taliban after Kabul grew concerned that the United States and Qatar, helped by Germany, had secretly agreed with the Taliban to open an office in the Qatari capital, Doha. It said that negotiations with the Taliban could only begin after they stopped violence against civilians, cut ties to al Qaeda, and accepted the Afghan constitution which guarantees civil rights and liberties, including rights for women. The council, according to a copy of the 11-point note made available to Reuters, also said any peace process with the Taliban would have to have the support of Pakistan since members of the insurgent group were based there. "The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is in agreement regarding the opening of an office for the armed opposition, but only to move forward the peace process and conduct negotiations," the council said. The government would prefer such an office in either Saudi Arabia or Turkey, both of which it is close to, but was not averse to Doha as long as the authority of the Afghan state was not eroded and the office was only established for talks, officials said. "We are saying Saudi or Turkey are preferable, we are not saying it has to be there only. The only condition is it should be in an Islamic country," said a government official. President Hamid Karzai's administration recalled its ambassador from Doha last week, apparently angry that it had been kept in the dark about the latest round of negotiations with the insurgent group. Officials said Kabul was also deeply concerned about reports that the United States was considering the transfer of a small number of Afghan prisoners from Guantanamo Bay military prison to Doha as a prelude to the talks. "We are a sovereign country, we have laws. How can you transfer our prisoners from one country to another. Already it's a violation to have them in Guantanamo Bay," the official said. The Afghan government wanted the prisoners to be returned to its custody, the official said. Reuters reported this month that the United States was considering the transfer of an unspecified number of Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo Bay into Afghan government custody as part of accelerating, high-stakes diplomacy. "We have no problem with this. In fact we have been demanding this for a while. These are Afghan prisoners," said the official, who declined to be identified. The tension between the Karzai administration and the United States over engaging the Taliban underscores the challenges of seeking a political settlement as the West prepares to withdraw most combat troops from the country by 2014. Efforts to engage the insurgent group have faced a string of setbacks, the most recent being the assassination of the head of the peace council and former president, Burhanuddin Rabbani, in September at the hands of a suicide bomber who pretended to be a Taliban emissary. HARDENING OF POSITIONS It led to a hardening of positions with Karzai saying the government could not talk to suicide bombers and that there should be an address for the Taliban so that negotiators know they are talking to the right representatives. "We are committed to the reconciliation process, the experience of the last 10 years shows no military solution is possible. Talking to the armed opposition is the key in this regard," said presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi. The peace council, laying down the markers for engagement with the Taliban, said well known figures from both the Taliban and the government had to be involved in talks. It said that "before any negotiations can take place, violence against Afghan people must stop and that the armed opposition must cut ties to al Qaeda and other terrorist groups." It also said that the Taliban must accept the constitution and honor the gains made in the last 10 years since they were ousted from power, conditions that the Taliban have shown no sign of accepting. The Taliban do not accept the constitution and have vowed to carry on fighting until all foreign troops have left the country. The peace council said Pakistani support was necessary for talks to take place, another condition that makes the task harder because of fraught ties between the United States and Pakistan which fears it is being shut out of the process. Opening a Taliban office in a third country itself is seen as a way to create distance from Pakistan which has longstanding ties to the insurgent group. But the government official said he did not think the peace council had laid down such tough conditions that the talks would fail even before they started. "We don't think it's a deal breaker. We are quite optimistic," he said. (Editing by Robert Birsel) World Afghanistan Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Back to top Reuters.com Business Markets World Politics Technology Opinion Money Pictures Videos Site Index Legal Bankruptcy Law California Legal New York Legal Securities Law Support & Contact Support Corrections Advertise With Us Connect with Reuters Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS Podcast Newsletters Mobile About Privacy Policy Terms of Use Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance Our next generation legal research platform Our global tax workstation Thomsonreuters.com About Thomson Reuters Investor Relations Careers Contact Us Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Monday, 26 December 2011
Powerful Darfur rebel chief dead, Sudan says |
Libya to include rebels in military from January |
Iran says woman's stoning case might change to hanging |
22 feared dead in India Christmas boat capsize |
Mission: Impossible cruises to top of box office |
Exclusive: Afghanistan sets ground rules for Taliban talks |
Islamists kill dozens in Nigeria Christmas bombs |
Suicide bomber kills 6 outside Iraq ministry |
13 found dead in truck in eastern Mexico: local media |
China jails dissident 10 years for subversive essays |
Japan urges China to help keep North Korea in check |
Head of Arab mission reaches Syria amid more unrest |
Former South Korean first lady heads North for condolences |
Mortars hit Iranian dissident camp in Iraq: Iraqi army |
Egypt's military rulers study plan to speed up vote |
Sony to sell stake in LCD venture to Samsung for $940 million |
Hackers hit security think tank Stratfor's website |
Web gambling gets boost from Obama administration |
Fujifilm: too early to say if it will invest in Olympus |
China tests 500 km/h super high-speed train |
Bollywood rediscovered heroes in 2011 |
Analysis: Russia's Putin risks losing touch amid protests |
Israeli lawmakers weigh recognizing Armenian genocide |
Opposition leader calls upcoming Iran election bogus: report |
App aims to make a social network more personal |
Web gambling gets boost from Obama administration |
Holland Taylor on life, love and Charlie Sheen |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph		BlogMeter 1.01