British Defense Minister Des Browne endorsed peace talks between Pakistan and Taliban militants yesterday despite concerns from Afghanistan that the talks would allow the Taliban to regroup and launch more attacks.
Browne said Britain supported any moves that would encourage militants to put down their weapons and stop violence and said Pakistan and Afghanistan needed to work together on problems with their border, much of which is controlled by Taliban insurgents.
He said reconciliation should be a part of any strategy, although it was clear some militants had no intention of putting down their weapons.
“But you can’t kill your way out of these sorts of campaigns,” Browne told journalists at Australia’s National Press Club yesterday.
Faced with a wave of suicide attacks, Pakistan has begun talks with Taliban militants who control much of the country’s 2,700km mountain border with Afghanistan.
The Taliban, however, said it would fight in Afghanistan until all foreign troops were driven out of the country and Afghanistan has expressed concerns about any peace deals.
Browne, in Australia for talks with Australian Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon, said sovereign countries had the right to welcome insurgents back into society if they agreed to obey the rule of law and recognize democratic governments.
“If people are prepared to give up violence, put down their weapons, accept and recognize legitimate and democratic government ... then the sovereign governments from both countries are entitled to say we will welcome you to become part of our society,” he said.
“That’s their privilege and right. And we in the United Kingdom will support them in doing that,” he said.
Afghan forces, backed by more than 60,000 foreign troops, are engaged in daily battles with Taliban militants, mainly in Afghanistan’s south and east, the areas closest to the border with Pakistan.
Afghan officials have accused Pakistan of allowing the Taliban to use Pakistani territory as a safe haven and an area to regroup and plan further attacks.
Britain has about 7,800 troops in Afghanistan, based mainly in Helmand Province, as part of a NATO force of about 50,000 troops across the country.
Australia has about 1,000 troops in Afghanistan, including about 300 special forces engaged in missions to track down militants.
In his address to the National Press Club in Canberra, Browne described the military campaign in Afghanistan as a “genuine noble cause” and said progress was being made in training Afghanistan’s army and police force.
But he said it would be “manifestly daft” to put a timeline on when foreign troops could leave Afghanistan.
“Afghanistan is a challenge to the international community for a generation,” he said. “If we walk away, it will haunt us.”
Meanwhile, one person was killed and several wounded in two separate suicide bombs attacks in Afghanistan, one of them against a US-led military base.
The Taliban said it was behind an attack in a district of Khost Province but there was no immediate claim of responsibility for one in Helmand Province.
Two attackers wearing military uniforms had tried to enter the international military base in Khost’s Gurbuz district, provincial government spokesman Khaiber Pashtun said.
“One of them walked out of the car and opened fire on police and the other exploded the car,” Pashtun said.
Police returned fire and killed the man on foot, he said.
The US and NATO military forces confirmed there had been an incident but said it was too early to say what had happened.
In other news, six pro-Taliban militants were killed yesterday when their vehicle packed with explosives blew up in Pakistan near the Afghan border, officials said. The explosion was caused by a hand grenade that went off accidently when the men were traveling through the Bajaur region, a militant said.
“The hand grenade blast blew up the ammunition and explosives in the vehicle killing six militants and wounding two,” said a Taliban member who declined to be identified.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was