Afghan Govt Should 'Reach Out' To Taliban

Leading Taliban figures can be persuaded to lay down their arms and enter government, the Foreign Secretary has told NATO members assembled in Scotland.

David Miliband said giving top Sunni chiefs' public appointments could bring an end to their violence in the war-torn region.

He told NATO colleagues history suggested the Taliban could be coaxed to stop fighting, paving the way for peace negotiations.

Mr Milibans called on the Afghan government to reach out to "high-level commanders that can be persuaded to renounce al-Qaeda and pursue their goals peacefully".

"This will be far from straightforward. But the historical lessons are clear," he said.

"Blood enemies from the Soviet period and the civil war now work together in government. Former Talibs already sit in the parliament.

"It is essential that, when the time is right, members of the current insurgency are

encouraged to follow suit," he added.

The Foreign Secretary did not rule out sending more forces to the region, provided an "agreed strategy" was in place.

"I, as much as anyone else, wants to bring our troops back home to safety, but we cannot leave a vacuum which the Taliban will quickly fill," said Mr Miliband, speaking in Edinburgh.

However, he said the military operation did not have to be endless.

Last night, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said a timetable for troop withdrawal from certain regions within Afghanistan could be formulated next year.

He offered up the UK as the destination for an "exit" summit.

Mr Brown said power and security would have to be transfered "district by district", a programme which many predict would take years rather than months.

Renewing his calls for an end to corruption at the heart of the Afghan government, the PM said: "The international community will meet to agree plans for the support we will provide to Afghanistan during this next phase. I have offered London as a venue in the New Year.

"I want that conference to chart a comprehensive political framework within which the military strategy can be accomplished.

"It should identify a process for transferring district by district to Afghan control, and if at all possible we should set a timetable for transferring districts starting in 2010."

(PR/BMcc)