No talks with Kabul, Taliban say

KABUL, Afghanistan, June 8 (UPI) -- Taliban fighters in Afghanistan are winning the war against foreign armies and see no need for peace talks with the government in Kabul, local leaders say.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai last week convened a tribal conference in Kabul meant to discuss ways to bring certain elements of the Taliban into the reconciliation process.

Taliban representatives said they wouldn't talk with the Karzai government until foreign forces left the country.

Karzai following the tribal conference, or jirga, said he would release several members of the Taliban as part of a good-will gesture.

Members of the Taliban in the eastern Afghan province of Nuristan told al-Jazeera there was no need to negotiate with the government in Kabul, however.

"While foreign forces are here, no representatives are allowed to attend any jirga, or any talks," said Taliban commander Mullah Zayfan. "After the foreign troops leave, Afghans can sit and talk together."

Jarir Hekmatyar, the son-in-law of Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, organized a May meeting of 45 delegates from insurgent groups, including the Taliban, Afghan government officials and political leaders.

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar leads the Hezb-i-Islami militant faction in Afghanistan. A Hezb-i-Islami delegation met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in March to present a 15-point peace plan that included deadlines for the departure of foreign troops from Afghanistan.

The Hezb-i-Islami leader in February called for international forces to leave within 18 months in order to talk.