Taliban must have clear representative for peace talks, Karzai says

Afghanistan's government can't hold peace talks with its Taliban insurgents until the Islamic militia identifies a representative with the authority to negotiate, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said in an interview that aired Sunday.Karzai told CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" in an exclusive interview that Afghanistan also needs the help of neighboring Pakistan for any talks to succeed.Karzai said the September assassination of former President Burhanuddin Rabbani, who had attempted to meet with Taliban representatives, showed that "we were actually talking to nobody." UGG Roxy Tall 5818"A man who came in the name of a messenger for peace turned out to be a suicide bomber," Karzai said. "Therefore, we have now clearly said that we will welcome a Taliban address, but that address must have the clarity that this representative is authorized and is representing the Taliban movement as we see it."Meanwhile, Pakistan's involvement is important "because we all know that the Taliban have their places there," Karzai said. "They operate from there. And a meaningful peace process cannot go well or end in satisfactory results without Pakistan's participation and help."NATO forces led by the United States have been battling the Taliban and their al Qaeda allies in Afghanistan for a decade, since al Qaeda's 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. A U.S. invasion swiftly deposed the Taliban, which had ruled most of Afghanistan before the attacks, but the fundamentalist Islamic movement regrouped as a guerrilla movement battling allied troops and Karzai's government. UGG Boots Outlet Already-strained ties among Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States were aggravated by a November airstrike that killed 24 Pakistani troops at border posts along the Afghan frontier. Karzai has chafed at American raids that have killed Afghan civilians, while his critics accuse him of overseeing a corrupt administration and a 2010 election that international observers said was riddled with fraud.