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Karzai Holds Talks with Taliban-Allied Insurgent Faction

   VOA News 22 March 2010

   Afghanistan's  President  Hamid  Karzai has held talks with one of the
   main  insurgent  groups  fighting  against  his government and foreign
   troops.
   Mr.  Karzai's  office  said  Monday that he met in Kabul with a senior
   delegation  from  Hezb-i-Islami,  a  militant  faction led by longtime
   Afghan warlord and political power broker, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.
   A  spokesman  for  Hezb-i-Islami  said  the group presented a 15-point
   peace  plan  which  includes  a  demand  for a gradual, six-month-long
   withdrawal  of foreign troops beginning in July. It also calls for the
   current  Afghan government to serve for six months and then stand down
   for new elections next year.
   The  Hezb-i-Islami  spokesman  said  the group plans to meet with U.S.
   officials in Kabul.  But a U.S. embassy spokeswoman said there are no
   plans for officials to meet the group.
   While there have been reports of ongoing contacts between Mr. Karzai's
   government  and  various militant factions, the talks in Kabul are the
   first  confirmed direct negotiations with one of the country's biggest
   insurgent groups.
   Hezb-i-Islami   fighters   have   long   been   battling   Afghan  and
   international troops in the east and north of the country as part of a
   loose alliance of militant groups opposed to the Afghan government.
   In  recent  weeks,  there  have  been  reports of Hekmatyar's fighters
   clashing  with Taliban militants, indicating there could be a split in
   their alliance.
   President  Karzai  plans  to  convene  a three-day peace conference in
   Kabul  on  April  29  to  discuss reintegrating Taliban militants into
   civilian life.
   Some information for this report provided by Reuters.

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