Hope and fear as tourists trickle back to Kashmir town after attack    Spain and Portugal scramble to restore power as officials chase cause of outage    Israel spy chief to step down after row with Netanyahu exposes deepening rifts    Saudi, Omani foreign ministers visit Rub' Al-Khali border crossing    From his own resources... Luminous lessons in leadership and humanity    Commerce Ministry recalls 6,500 Genesis cars due to risk of fire    Royal Institute of Traditional Arts implements Saudi-Chinese cultural exchange program    Localization in Saudi military industries rises to 19.35%    Logistics park for vehicles worth SR300 million to be set up at Dammam port    HONOR KSA expands its presence with new flagship Experience Store in Riyadh HONOR's first flagship store in KSA provides visitors with a premium experience, exciting offers and free services    Prince Sultan University launches first bachelor's program in language and media    Putin announces three-day Russian ceasefire in Ukraine from 8 May    Al-Falih: Eastern Province hosts 700 investment opportunities worth SR330 billion    Rock & Roll Hall of Fame picks Outkast but not Oasis    Duran leads Al Nassr past Yokohama Marinos into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Al Ahli cruise past Buriram into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi orchestra to perform at Sydney Opera House in May    Al Hilal thrash Gwangju to reach AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Theater Commission launches its Work and Learn Project in UK    The season has begun — and one comment shook us all    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Taliban reject Afghan elections, vow to fight until troops leave
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 07 - 08 - 2013

KABUL — The Afghan Taliban will not take part in next year's presidential elections and will wage war until foreign troops leave the country, the group's elusive leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, said in a message released on Tuesday.
The announcement is likely to frustrate the international community, which had been hoping the resumption of stalled peace talks in the Gulf state of Qatar may lead to the Islamist group's participation in the April elections.
“As to the deceiving drama under the name of elections 2014, our pious people will not tire themselves out, nor will they participate,” an English translation of Omar's message, provided by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, said.
The Taliban rejected two previous presidential elections but this was the first time they have publicly boycotted the 2014 poll.
For several years, a message from Omar has been delivered to the Afghan people in the days before Eid Al-Fitr, a three-day Islamic holiday celebrating the end of the holy month of Ramadan, a period marked by prayer and fasting.
While it is commonly believed that Omar lives in Pakistan, he has made no public appearances or speeches since fleeing Afghanistan in 2001 when US forces and their Afghan allies toppled the Taliban after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. The Taliban, who ruled Afghanistan with an iron fist from 1996 to 2001, are seeking to overthrow the US-backed government and end foreign occupation.
Omar said the aim of the Taliban's office in Doha, the capital of Qatar, was to see foreign forces leave the country and to form an inclusive government based on “Islamic principles.”
Most foreign troops are due to leave the country by the end of next year.
“We do not think of monopolizing power,” he said. “Those who truly love Islam and the country and have commitment to both, whoever they may be or whichever ethnicity or geographical location they hail from, this homeland is theirs,” he said.
Omar also said humanitarian organizations should feel free to carry out their work in Afghanistan as long as they were not “inviting people to non-Islamic ways.”
That message may be a response to the suicide attack on the International Committee of the Red Cross's (ICRC) compound in Jalalabad in May, which killed an unarmed guard and led to the organization curtailing operations in Afghanistan.
The attack was widely blamed on the Taliban. But intelligence gathered by the NATO-led force in Afghanistan suggested the Taliban fighters who launched the attack were acting without the permission of their commanders, a NATO source told Reuters.
The message came on the same day as a police officer was killed in the eastern city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province by a bomb attached to a police vehicle. The bomb killed the police driver and wounded an officer, Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said.
Nangarhar has endured a wave of violence which began on Friday with a battle between Taliban fighters and police. — Reuters


Clic here to read the story from its source.