The Taliban have rejected Afghan President Hamid Karzai's latest bid to move towards peace talks, dubbing a High Peace Council “failed and impractical” and denying that senior Taliban leaders were in contact with Kabul. Karzai's government Tuesday named the members of the council, approved by a peace jirga, or traditional gathering of tribal and community leaders, earlier this year. It aims to lay the ground for a negotiated end to a war which will soon be heading into its 10th year.The insurgency is bloodier than it has ever been, despite the presence of 150,000 foreign troops, and there is a growing sense both at home and in some quarters among Afghanistan's allies that talks may be the only route to peace.But the Taliban have repeatedly dismissed olive branches proffered by Karzai, saying they will not consider talks until all foreign troops have left. The peace council got the same response, even though its members include former Taliban.
