Canadian envoy cautious over Taliban reconciliation

A plan to give vocational training and jobs to Taliban fighters who lay down their weapons could alienate Afghans who are not part of the insurgency, warns Canada's ambassador to Afghanistan.

Williams Crosbie told reporters Sunday the gesture is pointless if ordinary citizens perceive the Taliban as being favoured.

"There's no point developing some kind of a fund to which former insurgents are eligible if we're not equally providing support to Afghans who are not part of the insurgency now," he said.

"So we don't want to create the impression that somehow if you're a member of the insurgency that you would be uniquely be able to benefit from the fund."

"On the other hand," Crosbie said, "the fund can be used to complement and supplement the economic development efforts that we have underway already."

Some see reconciliation as a step back

The ambassador also said some Afghans feel the scheme, which is being promoted by President Hamid Karzai, could be a step backwards.

"Some Afghans, including some Afghan women, have expressed concerns that reconciliation should not be at the expense of their rights and of the gains that have been made with the new constitution," Crosbie said.

"We've also pointed out that the reconciliation process needs to set down clear lines as to who would be eligible and who would not," he said. "Finally, the Afghan government itself needs to work out the details of the process."

Also on Sunday, Karzai renewed his call for Taliban militants to stop fighting his government and accept Afghan laws.

He spoke in Kabul, three days after he and Western backers agreed at a conference in London to create a more comprehensive program to bring Taliban insurgents over to the government's side in order to reduce violence that has raged in recent years.

The Afghan president stressed he plans to reconcile with Taliban leaders as much as they are willing, but he made clear his offer of reconciliation did not extend to anyone in al-Qaeda.