ajpirzada
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2008
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Tuesday, December 15, 2009
By Mazhar Tufail
ISLAMABAD: As the Pentagons top military officer reached Kabul and US Central Command Chief Gen David Petraeus met Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani in the federal capital, a grand meeting of the Taliban Shura at an undisclosed location in Helmand on Monday discussed the strategy to counter the surge in the US troops in the war-torn country.
Taliban commanders from Paktia, Paktika, Kunar, Herat, Helmand, Kandahar and Kunduz provinces attended the meeting. Supreme leader of the Taliban movement Mulla Muhammad Omar, however, did not attend the meeting, Qari Ziaur Rehman, Taliban commander for the Kunar province, told The News on telephone from an undisclosed location in Afghanistan.
The Taliban commander said the meeting discussed the strategy to counter the newly announced US policy for Afghanistan and Pakistan that includes surge in the US and Nato troops. He said the Taliban commanders decided to accelerate car bombings after arrival of fresh coalition troops in Afghanistan and also to launch street-to-street guerrilla war.
As part of the new strategy, the Taliban movement will also pace up its efforts to win more public support and hatred against the Indian presence in Afghanistan will be exploited to achieve this objective, Qari Ziaur Rehman said.
The Taliban movement will establish its government in the second phase and the areas under its control will be made a hub of peace and tranquillity, he added. When asked about the prospects of talks between the Taliban and the US as well as the US claims about good Taliban, Qari Zia said no Taliban leader or warrior would hold parleys with the Americans. He said the Americans are using the term of good Taliban in an effort to divide the Taliban leadership but they would never succeed in their nefarious designs because all the Taliban are good.
Our first condition for talks with the Americans is withdrawal of the occupation forces from our homeland and we will never compromise on this, the Taliban commander said. If the Americans start withdrawal of foreign troops, we are ready not only to hold talks with them but will also be ready to have working relationship with them on humanitarian grounds, he said.
Another Taliban commander, Maulvi Amanullah told The News the meeting reposed confidence in the leadership of Mulla Muhammad Omar and renewed resolve to compel the foreign troops leave Afghanistan. He also reiterated the Taliban movement has nothing to do with bombings on the Pakistani soil. The meeting not only condemned killing of innocent Pakistani men, women and children in the bombings but also offered Fateha for the deceased, he said.
Taliban Shura meets in Helmand
By Mazhar Tufail
ISLAMABAD: As the Pentagons top military officer reached Kabul and US Central Command Chief Gen David Petraeus met Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani in the federal capital, a grand meeting of the Taliban Shura at an undisclosed location in Helmand on Monday discussed the strategy to counter the surge in the US troops in the war-torn country.
Taliban commanders from Paktia, Paktika, Kunar, Herat, Helmand, Kandahar and Kunduz provinces attended the meeting. Supreme leader of the Taliban movement Mulla Muhammad Omar, however, did not attend the meeting, Qari Ziaur Rehman, Taliban commander for the Kunar province, told The News on telephone from an undisclosed location in Afghanistan.
The Taliban commander said the meeting discussed the strategy to counter the newly announced US policy for Afghanistan and Pakistan that includes surge in the US and Nato troops. He said the Taliban commanders decided to accelerate car bombings after arrival of fresh coalition troops in Afghanistan and also to launch street-to-street guerrilla war.
As part of the new strategy, the Taliban movement will also pace up its efforts to win more public support and hatred against the Indian presence in Afghanistan will be exploited to achieve this objective, Qari Ziaur Rehman said.
The Taliban movement will establish its government in the second phase and the areas under its control will be made a hub of peace and tranquillity, he added. When asked about the prospects of talks between the Taliban and the US as well as the US claims about good Taliban, Qari Zia said no Taliban leader or warrior would hold parleys with the Americans. He said the Americans are using the term of good Taliban in an effort to divide the Taliban leadership but they would never succeed in their nefarious designs because all the Taliban are good.
Our first condition for talks with the Americans is withdrawal of the occupation forces from our homeland and we will never compromise on this, the Taliban commander said. If the Americans start withdrawal of foreign troops, we are ready not only to hold talks with them but will also be ready to have working relationship with them on humanitarian grounds, he said.
Another Taliban commander, Maulvi Amanullah told The News the meeting reposed confidence in the leadership of Mulla Muhammad Omar and renewed resolve to compel the foreign troops leave Afghanistan. He also reiterated the Taliban movement has nothing to do with bombings on the Pakistani soil. The meeting not only condemned killing of innocent Pakistani men, women and children in the bombings but also offered Fateha for the deceased, he said.
Taliban Shura meets in Helmand
