The scene was set for something dramatic as President Karzai approached the lectern yesterday. Mr Karzai’s opening address, however, he was interrupted by the whistle and thud of an incoming rocket. The Taleban conspicuous by their absence had, nonetheless, managed to get their point across. t least five rockets were fired during the morning, police said, with two suicide bombers killed and a third arrested after they were found hiding in the shell of a house under construction barely 500 metres from the Loya Jirga, or Grand Assembly tent. Undeterred by either the risk to his life he has survived at least three assassination attempts or to the credibility of his conference, Mr Karzai urged his audience not to panic. “Sit down, nothing will happen,” he said. “I have become used to this.” In a direct appeal to his “dear Taleban brothers”, he said: “May God bring you to your homeland. Don’t destroy your homeland, don’t destroy yourself.” Mr Karzai’s message was clearly designed to fit in with the White House’s rhetoric about possible amnesties for senior Taleban but strictly no talks with al-Qaeda. “I can’t forgive al-Qaeda or those who kill students, teachers, scholars there is no room for them in the jirga,” Mr Karzai said. However, he admitted that his Government, and the international troops which secure it, were partly to blame for some people supporting the insurgency. “Those Taleban compelled to flee are welcome to come and join us,” he said. “This attack was the Taleban’s answer,” said the Herat MP Ahmad Behzad. “It shows they are not ready for peace.” The UN special representative to Afghanistan, Staffan de Mistura, who was among about 200 diplomats invited, predicted a tough road ahead. “Every difficult negotiation starts with an attempt of strength by either side,” he said.
source by-timesonline
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