KABUL — A group of Afghan leaders on Friday backed President Hamid Karzai’s plan to broker a truce with the Taliban but fell short of delivering a clear strategy for negotiating with the militant group.
The government-appointed delegates to the conference, known as a “peace jirga,” urged Karzai to push for the removal of certain insurgent leaders from a U.N. sanctions list, the release of some detainees in American custody and for the U.S.-led international force to do more to avoid civilian casualties.
But some of the event’s organizers acknowledged that a truce with the Taliban remains elusive and that the jirga was just the beginning of what is likely to be a long, challenging process. The Taliban, which sees the Karzai government as the byproduct of a foreign invasion, assailed the gathering and launched an attack near the site on the opening day of the three-day meeting.
“The struggle for obtaining peace has not ended,” said Burhanuddin Rabbani, the leader of Karzai’s main political opposition bloc, who was appointed to lead the jirga.
Many Afghans, including some delegates, criticized the meeting as fruitless.
“I was not satisfied,” said Muhtara Maha Bibi, 42, a delegate from Badghis province in northeastern Afghanistan. “Everything we concluded was already planned.”
The gathering of roughly 1,600 delegates did not put forward controversial proposals in the concluding statement. Unlike past jirgas, which have served as debate forums for dueling sides, there were few signs of dissent or radical viewpoints. No active Taliban leaders participated.
Karzai has long sought to break the insurgency by urging Taliban foot soldiers to reconcile with the government. But the presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan and his administration’s inability to provide jobs and safety for many who have renounced militant violence have slowed his efforts.
